Tonight’s premiere of The CW’s Containment will introduce viewers to an all-new kind of series from showrunner Julie Plec. The quarantine story doesn’t have any vampires, werewolves, or witches that fans of her supernatural dramas — The Vampire Diaries and The Originals — have come to know and love.
Fans of Diaries, however, will be pleased to know that last season’s stand-out Chris Wood (Kai Parker) is sticking with the Plec family and leads a terrific ensemble in the new viral outbreak drama, based on the original Belgian series created by Carl Joos.
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The limited series event follows the lives of a group of people during quarantine after a virus spreads and forces the city in lock down. Among them, is law enforcement Officer Jake Riley (Wood) who gets stuck on the wrong side of the cordon.
“There’s no logic for me to be trapped on the other side,” Wood says. “His temper flares up, which is one of his character traits. You get to see that very early on so we know that going into the story that this is a guy who if he’s pressed into a corner, he’s going to sort of lash out.”
Learning of Officer Riley’s high temper and flare ups, it’s easy to assume the character will be similar to Wood’s previous role, but says he’s “polarizingly different” than the formidable and villainous Kai.
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“You can tell that this guy in his core is a good person,” Wood explains of Riley, a character he’s passionate about and thrilled to play. “His morals are in the right place.”
In fact, much unlike Kai Parker, Chris Wood sees Jake Riley as a sort of hero.
“I think of him that way when I think of who he is at his core and how he acts in the beginning of the story,” he says. “You see his goodness. You can feel that he actually has it in him, but because of his life circumstances, he’s guarded and doesn’t like to say more than he has to.”
“His nature is not to lead,” Wood continues. “He’s not a leader by default, so he’s gonna have to choose to step into that role. He’s definitely a hero; he’s got it in him, you just have to watch how it’s going to come out.”
Containment premieres tonight, April 19, at 9pm on The CW.
