Variety's FYC TV Fest Gets Deep on Drama With ‘Yellowjackets,' ‘Day of the Jackal,' ‘Matlock' and More

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19-05-2025

The morning kicked off with a pair of powerful dramas from executive producers Nigel Marchant and Gareth Neame of Carnival Films, the company responsible for such hits as 'Downton Abbey' and 'The Gilded Age.' Marchant noted that if their projects had a common theme, it was world-building. 'I think that's what we're really good at — really looking at what entertains us is going to entertain an audience.'Both 'Jackal' and 'Lockerbie' are currently streaming on Peacock and feature standout lead performances from Oscar-winning actors. In 'Jackal,' Eddie Redmayne plays the titular assassin, who takes on many disguises. 'He's such a meticulous actor,' said Marchant. 'He had to learn different languages, he [worked] with movement coaches, he had to have all of the prosthetics [work] and he really embraced all of that.''Lockerbie' finds Colin Firth portraying Jim Swire, who spent decades investigating the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 after his daughter was killed in the crash. Asked how they are able to continually attract A-list talent and Neame quipped, 'We pay well.' Marchant, more seriously, added, 'I think it's always the script.'Neame went on to say that they pursue close relationships with the show's writers, such as they did with 'Downton Abbey' creator Julian Fellowes. 'The show was a concept I had wanted to make for years and years but just didn't know who could write that show until I got to know Julian. I pitched him the topline idea.' He said it was similar with 'Jackal' showrunner Ronan Bennett and 'Lockerbie' scribe David Harrower. 'We come up with the ideas, but we love to work with these brilliant writers, whether they're highly established or younger writers. And then just supporting them and their vision.'
During Variety's 'Meet the Makers: Yellowjackets, actor Melanie Lynskey told the audience she likes having a conversation with showrunners and executive producers Ashley Lyle, Jonathan Lisco and Bart Nickerson about her overall character's arc.
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Lynskey told Variety's senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay, 'I don't hear too much about what's happening with other characters. It's more Shauna's journey, so I'm still surprised as the season goes on.'
In the present-day timeline of the show, Shauna (Lynskey) finds out that Melissa (Hilary Swank) is not only alive — she had faked her death years before — but is married to Hannah's daughter, who has no idea who she really is. When their characters begin fighting, Shauna ultimately bites Melissa's arm before force-feeding her a piece of it.
Lyle says that was something that came up early in the writer's room, and the shorthand was 'Shauna eats her hand.' Lyle went on to say they eventually got to the point where they couldn't make the character eat an entire hand. 'We knew that we wanted to have a really brutal, vicious moment for Shauna that is the unlocking of everything that she's been holding back for three seasons.'
Lyle also talked about killing off major characters this season and the decision-making process. 'These are characters who've been living in our brains for years, and then they are actors who are our friends and colleagues,' Lyle explained. She went on to say, 'If we've done our jobs right, it should hurt. If it doesn't hurt, then we have failed.'
Lisco added, 'Unfortunately, because the show is about trauma, that must have consequences. And if it didn't, I think the audience would rebel because it would start feeling like melodrama and artificial. But because we wanted to keep it as real and as poignant as possible, unfortunately, the characters that you come to love may have to slough off this mortal coil.'
'Matlock' creator Jennie Snyder Urman admits she's still shocked she landed Kathy Bates for the starring role. 'And my mom is still surprised that she knows my name!' joked Urman as Bates laughed good-naturedly.Urman was joined by cast members Bates, Skye P. Marshall, David Del Rio, Leah Lewis and Jason Ritter to discuss CBS' hit legal drama in which the Oscar-winning plays a lawyer coming out of retirement to work at a big legal firm. Because she's older, few people suspect that the sweet Mattie Matlock is actually undercover, investigating who destroyed evidence.'When we get to a certain age, we do become invisible,' Bates acknowledged. 'And yet it's at the time of our lives when we know more things, we can accomplish more things. But for some reason in our society — and especially in our industry — they're not interested in that.' Bates noted that Urman has 'flipped the script' on that idea and that the show manages to appeal to people of all ages. 'What I love is when people say, 'Oh I watched it with my 16-year-old son, I watched it with my mother.' It's just cool.'
Robert and Michelle King have been responsible for several acclaimed shows, including 'The Good Wife' and it's spin-off 'The Good Fight' and were on hand to speak about two of their most recent shows.After four seasons, the supernatural thriller 'Evil' signed off the air and even the creators admitted even they can't believe with what the show got away with. But it wasn't evil chatbots or haunted elevators they expected the most resistance to. 'We did a silent episode and I was surprised they didn't read the script and go, 'Wait a minute, where is the dialogue?'' said Robert King. He also praised the production values the show had, particularly an episode where they built a particle accelerator to try and determine the weight of the human soul.The Kings were then joined by 'Elsbeth' showrunner Jonathan Tolins and actors Carrie Preston and Wendell Pierce to discuss the CBS hit featuring the lovable attorney character Preston originated on 'The Good Wife' 15 years ago.Tolins had previously worked with the Kings on several shows, including the short-lived 2015 sci-fi dram 'Brain Dead,' which was set in Washington D.C. and centered on people whose brains were taken over by alien insects. Tolins jokingly referred to that show as a 'documentary.' Noting that the show was ahead of its time, Robert King added, 'Robert F. Kennedy had a worm in his head. I mean, he stole from us!'Asked about the enduring appeal of the character, Preston spoke of 'her positivity, her joyousness, her ability to be curious. Even when she's feeling hurt or vulnerable, she always willfully makes herself see the good – even in the murderers. That's how she solves the crimes, she has the empathy and compassion to see why they did it.' Echoed Tolin, 'People always say the character is so quirky, but a lot of that comes from the fact that she's willing to say the truth.'
The third season of AMC's 'Dark Winds' examines more of Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn's (Zahn McClarnon) past. As he faces new mysteries and 'monsters,' Leaphorn is forced to face his traumatic past. Episode 6 of the latest season delves into the moral gray areas behind some choices. Speaking with Variety's senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay, McClarnon said it was fun as an actor to explore that. 'I find it cathartic to tap into some of that stuff that I went through as a kid, which was very similar. I enjoy that process as an actor and that's why I wanted to be an actor.'
Writer and director Steven Paul Judd joined McClarnon and discussed how the writer's room was filled with Native storytellers. Judd said, 'You're really pulling from past experiences from yourself, too. So you got a room of people, it's like therapy. Everyone's crying in the room because you're telling personal stories, and because you want the stories to be as true as they can be. So it was cathartic.'
Being as authentic as possible is important to the creative team on the show. And that meant McClarnon having to learn Dine, the Navajo language for certain scenes. Cultural consultants on helped ensure each syllable was correct, but it wasn't easy. McClarnon told the audience that it would often take a few weeks 'to learn a couple of lines.'
Next season, McClarnon will direct his first episode. He revealed that stepping into prep was the most difficult aspect of the role and having shot lists. 'I relied on everybody around me to hold me up and guide me.'
Judd joked that on the first day of shooting, McClarnon showed up with a megaphone wearing boots and a beret. 'He said, 'This is how I saw it in the movie.'
As it turns out, McClarnon was inspired by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich's style.
While he's not done with the show yet and would like to explore more of Leaphorn's complexities, McClarnon eventually hopes to play other roles.
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