Stars Giacomo Giannotti and Vanessa Morgan dish on the second season of Wild Cards
Demoted by-the-book cop Cole Ellis (Giacomo Giannotti) and spirited con woman Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan) didn’t start their professional collaboration on the most enthusiastic note, but after a season of crime solving, partnership building and personal bonding, the two are now . . . well, at odds again. At the end of the first season of Wild Cards, Max provided Ellis with evidence meant to prove the identity of his brother’s murderer, but even that wasn’t enough to bring goodwill to the relationship fractured by Ellis being played in Max’s most recent con.
Having the twosome be reluctantly cooperative is an element that played so well in the inaugural season of the crime procedural that Giannotti sees no reason to mess with a good thing. “After we completed the season, we’ve seen that it’s been successful. People have responded positively to the material,” he says. “You want to up the ante and increase the stakes, but you also don’t want to delineate too much because if the show was successful, that means that what you were doing was right.”
On that note, season two makes sure to maintain the standalone procedural elements, while also delving deeper into the private lives of both Max and Ellis. “[Viewers] really responded to a lot of the character-building scenes and episodes that dived into the backstories,” says Giannotti. “Those are the things that really bring the plot forward, and that are interesting and satisfying for the viewers.”
This time, past and present meet in Ellis’ crusade to solve the murder of his brother. “We leave our standard case-of-the-week structure to really dive into that,” explains Giannotti “That’s a big storyline for my character. He’s dealing with pain, grief and a lot of unresolved trauma from that.” The actor also believes Ellis has a simplistic view of what kind of peace of mind solving the case will bring him. “He’s wrapped up his identity in this idea of what closure [of the case] means without realizing that it’s not going to bring his brother back. Ultimately, he’s still going to have to deal with that and find a way to wake up every morning, put his shoes on and go to work.”
Meanwhile, Ellis’ partner in crime-solving struggles with the fact that, aside from her father (played by Canadian national treasure Jason Priestley), Max has established no permanent connections in her life. “Her insecurity is not finding someone to love her for who she truly is, and fully being alone one day,” says Morgan. At this point in their journey, attempting to turn their relationship into anything more profound feels somewhat premature. “He’s emotionally stunted and not quite available. When this incredible, beautiful woman, who’s really talented, walks into his life, he’s not ready for it,” admits Giannotti. “The challenge of the season is Max working really hard to melt that icy heart of Ellis and get him to trust her again. As the season goes on, you’ll see a little bit of a melting of Ellis. But it takes time and a lot of work.”
What astute viewers know — and both Max and Ellis will hopefully, eventually realize — is that they are each other’s answer to moving on. But for now, Morgan views her character’s role in the second season as being there in support of Ellis’ mission. “When it comes to down to [finding the killer] he is on his own path — I can’t really stop him,” she says. “All I can do is be by his side and encourage him.”
Having observed the characters develop an affinity for each other before their most recent fracture, Giannotti believes the ebbs and flows in the relationship between Ellis and Max are a necessary part of the show’s longevity. “The romance in the air evaporated pretty quickly because he’s pissed and betrayed,” he explains. “That’s a very intelligent way for the writers to hit a reset button on our relationship. The trajectory that they were on was quite intimate and close. We can’t have that. We want many seasons. We want to draw out this relationship as long as possible. The betrayal was a way of resetting that.”
In the second season each episode contains a nod to well-known films and television series, a fun little wink that fans of the show should enjoy. It is ultimately the light-heartedness and humour in the writing, along with the spark between the characters, that Giannotti believes sustains the series. “Our show feels pretty original in a lot of ways,” he says. “The model, which is not original, is that we solve a case every week, but our show really leans much more into character development. I think our show does a nice balance of the two.”
Wild Cards airs Wednesday, February 19, on CBC