With WonderCon going virtual for 2021 due to COVID-19, a virtual panel was held for the mysterious new NBC science fiction series, Debris, to give fans an exclusive look into the creation of the show and talk to the cast. Moderated by TV Guide’s Damian Holbrook, the panel featured creator Joel Wyman and series stars Jonathan Tucker, Riann Steele, Norbert Leo Butz and Scroobius Pip, all joining in via Zoom.
The panel began with a clip from the upcoming fifth episode of the series, which featured Finola Jones, played by Steele, discussing a missing case file that seems to have been deleted by the CIA before she meets with Tucker’s Bryan Beneventi. As the two talk, a shrill sound is heard ringing through the air, prompting Bryan to say, “It’s happening again,” as Pip’s Anson Ash calmly watches from the street as people panic around him. Following the clip, Holbrook said, “I have a thousand questions!”
Holbrook started by asking Wyman how he created the series and Wyman said that he was strongly influenced by alien films such as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” “I used to climb up on my roof because I wanted to see if there was something out there, I wanted to believe that we weren’t alone,” Wyman said. “It’s always been something in the back of my head, but I don’t deal with little green men. That’s not my thing, my science fiction is a little bit different. I like to talk about the human condition.”
“I learned a lot of lessons on ‘Fringe’ about emotion and how to connect with my audience,” Wyman continued, touching on his previous series. “I’m concerned that people are cynical and alone and connection is the most important thing. And I think that’s so crucial in this time of technological advancement.”
Tucker and Steele were asked about their audition process for the series. Steele said that she was terrified before her screen test with Tucker and that he took her aside before they began and encouraged her. “Riann flew across the country to LA,” Tucker said. “There’s all the details that you forget… she spent days trying to get here, hotel and ground transportation and all that and now you’ve got to go into a room and be dazzling. Riann loaded up the bases and hit a grand slam, which is an American metaphor, of course!”
Tucker also revealed that he was instrumental in the casting of Butz as Craig Maddox, being a fan of Butz’s work on Broadway. “I hunted (Butz) down like a submarine on ‘The Hunt for Red October!'” Tucker quipped. “We need Norbert Butz! I’ve seen him on Broadway, multiple Tonys, whatever we can do, get this guy!” Butz returned the favor by saying, “I remember Jonathan from ‘The Black Donnellys’ and ‘In the Valley of Elah’ because I’m old AF! He was an actor on my radar since he was like a boy and he’s had a really long career.” Butz also touched on playing Maddox, calling the character, “A deceptively tricky part to play.”
Holbrook then asked Pip, who began his career as a rapper, about his journey as the mysterious character of Anson Ash, the Influx agent whose been trailing the Debris. “He’s someone who’s radicalized and has a strong belief,” Pip said. “He’s not coming from a place of evil, he’s coming from a belief of, there’s all this new power in the world and the Americans and the British don’t have the best track record of being trusted in that. So he truly believes that he is a good guy. Although the viewer may not get to see that until further down the line.”
Holbrook pressed Tucker for answers on the mysteries surrounding Bryan’s past, but Wyman immediately ordered Tucker to say nothing! After that, Wyman revealed why the secret of Finola’s father, George Jones, being alive was unpacked so early in the season. “For me, I want to give these characters drama and face that head on,” Wyman said. “They both are realizing that they can’t trust the people around them. I wanted to establish a character relationship between Bryan and Finola that wasn’t a cliched thing. This is a story about two people trying to understand each other’s souls, which in my opinion is a much deeper love story than physical attraction. I just wanted them to have a very difficult time getting to that place.”
Other moments from the virtual panel:
Steele revealed that not only had she never eaten a marshmallow Peep before the scene involving her character eating one, but she doesn’t like the taste of them! “When you see me enjoying it, that was acting!” Steele laughed.
Wyman revealed that Maddox and Orbital are attempting to put the Debris pieces back together to rebuild the alien spacecraft, but “They’re putting this thing together like a crashed jumbo jet, but the physics of this thing are like nothing we can comprehend.”
The cast touched on filming the series during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This show is all about connection, but to make this show, we all have to commit to a lack of connection,” Pip said. “Those small moments of connection mean so much. I miss sitting and watching the UFC with my brother.” “I’m now someone who FaceTimes my cat,” Steele joked.
Wyman teased what’s to come in future episodes, saying, “Expect the unexpected. Things are going to change in ways you can’t understand until you see them.”
Check out the full panel below and make sure to watch Debris Mondays on NBC!