An Interview with Christie Burke, Dean Devlin, and Jonathan Glassner from ‘The Ark’

THE ARK -- "Failed Experiment" Episode 201 -- Pictured: (l-r) -- Christie Burke as Lt. Sharon Garnet, Reece Ritchie as Lt. Spencer Lane (Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY)

It is definitely safe to say, that people are eagerly awaiting the second season of the hit SYFY series, The Ark. Simply because the series offers up a refreshing science fiction adventure, one that fans simply cannot get enough of, and in anticipation of the arrival of its second season, we sat down with series lead Christie Burke (Lieutenant/Captain Sharon Garnet), and co-showrunners Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner to discuss all things The Ark.
 
John Betancourt: This is a two-part opening question, the first one is for Dean and Jonathan, and I'd love to know what went into the decision to create such a bigger and bolder and amazing season two.
 
Dean Devlin: I think it's really… we owed it to the people who stuck with us. You know, I mean, it was, look, we're an independent company doing a show on a big network, and we didn't know if it was going to work or not, and suddenly, six and a half million people showed up and they stayed with us through the whole season. In fact, the numbers grew as the season went on, and we just felt a responsibility. We said, “You know, we can't just give them what they've gotten. We gotta up our game in every way that we can.”
 
Jonathan Glassner: I mean, you know, if you're gonna do a series and it's successful, you better be bigger the next season, or you're not doing your job. You know, we don't want to suddenly make a smaller show.
 
John Betancourt: The second part of this is for Christie. As an actor, how meaningful is it to work on a season and a series, that is this ambitious?
 
Christie Burke: I mean, it's the most meaningful. It's incredible, the idea that, like, you know, we went to Serbia, and we did this thing, and that anyone watched it, and not only watched it, but liked it, and kept coming back to, like, this little, beautiful, heartfelt story that we created is like, I think the most meaningful. I'm really excited. I think we really took into consideration our fans when making this season in what surprises and unpredictability we wanted to show them, but also, just like we showed up every day and wanted to do the best we possibly could. So, I'm really excited for fans to watch it.
 
John Betancourt: In keeping with the two-part style here, starting with Dean and Jonathan here, what kind of challenges did you run into, from a showrunner and writer standpoint, in creating a season so… I mean, the season two premiere is just so ambitious.
 
Jonathan Glasser: You ain't seen nothing yet. (Laughter from everyone.)
 
John Betancourt: Oh man, I only received the first three episodes of season three, that’s scary.
 
Jonathan Glassner: We… actually go to planets this season. So, it gets big and fun and hard from a production perspective. Just ask Christie. It was, it was some challenging stuff this season.
 
Dean Devlin: We have very big appetites, and we have very small budgets. (Laughter) Normally… you would curb your appetite based on your budget, but we don't. And so, it's like, “All right, well, let's use every trick in the book that we've ever learned, and let's beg, borrow and steal from everyone to help us get there” and it takes everybody. I mean, you know, as much as Garnet is a leader on screen, Christie's a leader off screen. And you know, she's really on set, working with the other actors and motivating people. I mean, I we couldn't have a better number one on a show. And it takes all of that, it takes everybody stepping up to try and fulfill these ambitions we have with the time and money we've got.
 
John Betancourt: And then the second part of that is for Christie. In keeping with what Dean and Jonathan just said, what kind of challenges did you deal with as an actor with such ambitious material?
 
Christie Burke: I revel in challenge. I think I really shine when, like, something's difficult to do. Like, I don't take no for an answer. Like, if you're telling me, “we have to get this scene in this amount of time,” I'm like, “it's going to be the best scene you've ever seen in your life.” So, I kind of love rising to face difficulty, if that makes sense. I think also, too, like that kind of pressure really creates magical art, in my opinion. But I think we get to see Garnet, not only in challenging situations, but also emotional situations with other cast members, we get to see her develop deeper relationships and lots of other fun stuff.
 
John Betancourt: This is more of a global question one for everyone. I've always from day one, loved how the show had a lot of depth and a lot of intelligence about the human condition, which great sci fi always does. And I'm very curious what each of you kind of hope this season audiences take away from a messaging standpoint.
 
Jonathan Glassner: I mean, I would say it's very similar to last season in that it's hope, it's hope for that, humans, when they work together, can do anything, and, you know, even survive where we left us at the end of last season.
 
Dean Devlin: I think that's right. I mean, this is a show about hope. It's also a show about empathy, it's a show about forgiveness, and it's about grit. And you know, the storylines this year are different than last year. It's not “disaster movie of the week” this year. It's really, we go to some very unexpected places, but it's always in service of what we just said. It's always just to illustrate what the best versions of us can be.
 
Christie Burke: Well, I remember like something just came to mind right now. I remember, like the first meeting I ever had with Dean, which was really scary, by the way, (Laughs) was he said that hope is the journey, not the destination. And I think that's a really beautiful sentiment. I think it is the journey like, I think so often in society, we get caught in, like, “we got to get to the planet!” We got to do this” -- that we forget, like, human connection and like not giving up on people, and like lifting each other up is also like the destination and the journey. So, I think that's also should be the takeaway. Don't give up on people.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have for each of you today, what has the fan response meant to each of you? Because this show just blew up and folks really do love it.
 
Jonathan Glassner: Wow, I love it. You know, who wouldn't? It's very gratifying to know that all the hard work we put in means something to some people. And, you know, maybe bringing a little happiness to their life for an hour every week. And I think that's valuable.
 
Dean Devlin: I've made things that were loved, and I've made things that were loved a lot less. It is better to be loved more. (Laughter from everyone)
 
Christie Burke: Oh, man, yeah, I think I second everything they just said. It's like, I feel very honored that people decide to take an hour out of out of their day and watch this show that we made, that we wanted to put our all into. And when I'm on set, I'm thinking about fans, like, I'm like, “Oh my gosh, I can't wait for them to see this amazing thing that we're making.” And I just want to, like, text every fan I know personally and be like,” Oh my gosh, this and this happened, and this and this happened,” and I'm not allowed to because I'd be fired. (Laughter) But yeah, I feel really lucky. I think sci fi fans are incredible. I've gotten to be a part of other projects that weren't necessarily in this genre, and sci fi fans are the best. They're the most loving, accepting, like, how lucky are we that we get to do it again? You know?
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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