Hundreds of fans of Motherland: Fort Salem gathered inside the San Diego Convention Center this past weekend to see what creator Eliot Laurence had to share about the fan-favorite Freeform series at San Diego Comic-Con.
Along with a sneak peek at episode 6, “Book Club,” Laurence shared with the audience how each actor is like their character, what parts of the story were planned from the very beginning, what is still to come in the final season, and some of his ideas to continue the story in other mediums.
Eliot Laurence (“Claws“) was very candid about why he cast who he did for each part, and that is because the actors are all very much like their on-screen counterparts.
“The actors are very close to their characters, so it has that uncanniness about it,” he says. “They’re just coming from an honest place.” Taylor Hickson was cast as Raelle because Laurence needed someone who could carry the weight that Raelle carries. “We needed someone who’s been through some stuff.”
Abigail needed to be played by someone who could be haughty, give off rich-girl vibes, but not be a drag. Hence Ashley Nicole Williams. Tally is just “a walking exclamation point” and I can’t think of a better way to describe her, and Jessica Sutton perfectly fits the bill. For Scylla, Laurence needed someone who was deeply intelligent and kind, both of which he saw in Amalia Holm.
There were also multiple iconic actors in the show, including newly Emmy-nominated actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, of which Eliot highly praises. “Sheryl Lee Ralph is my whole life,” Laurence gushes. “She is a master and so technically brilliant.” With M, Laurence made sure Ess Hödlmoser had a hand in telling their character’s story accurately and authentically.
There were a few things that Eliot made clear were planned from the very beginning of the show, and those were the Salem Accord and the First Song.
“It was always the deal that one of the Salem Witches was actually a witch,” he says “and she cut a deal to kind of carve out a place for her people.” Laurence even hinted to what the First Song could do when all parts come together. “It COULD heal all of the boxes we put ourselves into. . . It might make us all one again.”
There is still half a season to go and a lot of story left to tell on Motherland: Fort Salem. When it comes to Silver and his plans with the Camarilla, according to Laurence, we still don’t know what all those plans are yet. Eliot also shares that there is still a lot of hope left for our group and witches.
“Things are never gonna be the same, so I’m gonna promise you radical change. I’m gonna promise you some hope, because I think the world really needs it right now. And then I’m just gonna keep doing what we do, which is packing so much freakin’ story into every episode!”
The third and final season of Motherland: Fort Salem is nearing its end, but Laurence has much more stories brewing. There are PLENTY of prequel opportunities where we could learn more about Alder and many other witches of the past. There were mentions of being interested in making a TV movie or graphic novel to get more of this story out.
Laurence started Motherland as a book series back when The Hunger Games was popular, but eventually changed it for television, he could always go back and release the story in book form. There would be a HUGE audience for it. He also threw out the idea about an American History text book from Fort Salem. How cool would that be!
Be sure to catch the last half of Motherland: Fort Salem Tuesday nights on Freeform.