Toya and Reginae are names that are synonymous with reality television and rightfully so. Since this duo have been featured on several shows throughout the years, to the point where Reginae has grown up right before our eyes. And at long last, this mother and daughter duo have their own show of the same name airing on WE tv and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with both of them to discuss their television experiences. 
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John Betancourt: What motivated each of you to want to open up your lives on this show?

Toya: Oh, well, you know, we've been in the reality TV world, we're no strangers to reality TV, for some time now. But the difference is this time we get to work together, you know, and, you know, produce a show that, you know, shows our life from our eyes. And we're also executive producers of the show. So, we're very excited about that. And we're at a different page in our lives, like a lot of growth, a lot of changes. So, you know, we're just excited to just work together this time.

Reginae: Oh, yeah, definitely excited for just, you know, I feel like… like my mom said, we have been on TV for so long, and people watched me grow. And I'm excited for them to see, you know, me just grow into this young adult. And yeah, I'm just excited for them to see my growth.

John Betancourt: Now since reality TV is nothing new to either of you, what motivated each of you to step into this world in the first place? 

Reginae: Um, well, my mom… actually I’m going to throw it to my mom, because it was her, I was 10 years old.

Toya: Oh, yeah, it kind of started… me and my friend Tiny, T.I.’s wife, we did a show called Tiny and Toya on BET a couple of years ago. And that was kind of like our start into the reality TV world. And from there, you know, like people thought that we were about to produce a show based on being rapper’s girlfriends or wives. But we kind of changed it up and showed our life and what we deal with on a day to day. And that's how we kind of got started with it. 

John Betancourt: What changed in your life by becoming reality stars?

Reginae: I feel like with reality, you bring people in on a deeper level. And I feel like they connect with you more, like through like years and years, like people will come up to me and my mom, like, they look at it, they look at us as family, and like, you know, like, they can relate to us with all of the things that we've always shown, we've always been vulnerable, we’ve always been real, like, and people can relate to that.

Toya: Yeah, that kind of… you know, it, it shows people like you are human, you go through things, life is not always perfect. And we're not afraid to show that you know, you have good times in your life, you have bad times in your life, ups and downs. And during the reality TV lens, you get to see a more deeper level of the people that you know, you follow and, you know, you kind of like through social media, you see a different side of them. And like she said, it draws you closer because they feel you feel like you can relate to them. But that's the good side. Of course, you’ve got people that don't like the way you do things. I don't like the way you handle it that's on reality TV or off, like that's on social media, also like you people have an opinion regardless.

John Betancourt: Now that brings me right to my next question. What kinds of challenges have you run into as reality TV stars?

Toya: Well, um, the challenges you run into is because you open your life up so much, you leave room for people to have an opinion and people to judge you. And it's not always good things that people have to say, you know, unfortunately, you do run into people like “oh, why did you say that? Why did you expose this?” This is the issue, I was wrong for that? Because that's, you know, someone else's opinion and you can't get mad because you did allow these people into your world. So, you have to just deal with it. You know what I'm saying? Like, although opening your life up, a reality show episode, is only but so long, so you only see clips of the whole entire situation and you're left to judge off of that. And some people get it, some people don't, you know what I'm saying? So, it's just one of those things that comes with it.

Reginae: Yeah, my mom pretty much touched on it. It’s definitely… like that.

John Betancourt: Now, it has to take a special mindset to deal with that. Since people online can be… rough… I think is the nice way to say it. So, as reality stars, how do you handle and reconcile all of that chaos?

Reginae: Well, you have to -- well, me and my mom, we have a relationship with God. And we pray and we know ourselves. Like one thing people… they want to put, you know, they want to project what they're going through, on you. We know what we're going through, we know who we are. So can't no one, you know, make us feel any way. Of course, we have those days where, yes, sometimes you don't understand why people can be evil or can be this or could be that. But it's like, it's life, everybody goes through it, you never know what people are going through. So yeah, we just have a strong relationship with God, we pray, and we know that we can never let whatever happens outside, break us up.

Toya: Yeah, we know, it starts with having a good foundation. You know, when you sign up to do these types of shows, like, you know, this is my daughter, this is my family, my husband, you know, so you have to be on the same page, because you know, you are opening your lives up, not everybody can handle what's to come and everybody's opinion. You know, we've been dealing with it for a while. So, we kind of got used to it. But you know, we're human. So, nobody wants to just be listening to no one just straight bash them. But we do understand what comes with opening your life up to the world.

John Betancourt: Now I’ve always had great respect for reality stars since you all lead such different lives. What changes in your day-to-day life as a reality star?

Toya: Well, because the show is based on our reality, and to be honest, with you, it's 100% what’s going on in my life. It’s just cameras following. So, you don't see everything. But most of the moments that you know, things that are happening, or whatever they're filming, you know, of course, like a reality show, you know what I'm saying? But it's not like, nothing is adjusting. Because if we have to go to the office, we will make a stop at the office, like they're not running cameras 24/7. But throughout that time, we are still able to navigate our life still, and do the show. You know, it's not a thing that's completely taken over our whole life where we have no privacy. Of course, you have things you don't open up and share. But for the most part, you know, it's real. It's our life. And it's just cameras.

John Betancourt: Now what’s changed for you on a personal level by doing a show that features the two of you? 

Toya: I really don’t think much has changed, other than my daughter live in California now. 

Reginae: Like, I feel like it's, nothing's really well -- there’s things that's like, you know, just like how life how… it happened a couple of months ago, so a lot of things has, like, it's probably like, I don't know, not more, so like, like you said, I was living in Atlanta, now I'm in LA. So that changed, so but you're gonna see how that plays out on the show. But as far as like us and how we maneuver our relationship, not much has changed.

Toya: Like, from family dynamic, I mean, we're working to change the relationships with our family, who are a part of the show, and things are, you know, getting better there, but like, but the negative side, there's no negative. Nothing, has affected anything, everything is just is what it is.

John Betancourt: What do you hope people take away from your journey? 

Toya: I will say, you know, the biggest thing is usually when people are in the public eye, they are put on this pedestal like, their life is just supposed to be, super grand, they’re not allowed to have vulnerable moments. They're not allowed to do this. They're not allowed to do that. Through the show, you know, I want -- we want -- people to see that we are human. Just like you, we bleed just like you, we go through things, we're not afraid to talk about it, we, you know, we are who we are. And our life is not perfect. You know, like… perfect does not exist in our world, but we have a blessed, beautiful life. And drama comes with that, we have family stuff that we go through. And most importantly, we love each other and are there for each other and are trying to you know, heal and, you know, work through things or whatever, we're just doing it with cameras there, but we are human. We're just like, you know, everybody else that go through things. So that's the most important thing.

Reginae: Yes, I will say that too. I will say just like, also getting to know like my mom said, we are posted online, you know, the blogs, a lot of stuff like that, where people may see us on a blog one time and don't know us, they might turn on a TV and get to know the real us. And just like the behind the scenes of what everybody else is talking about, we get to share our life through our show.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for you both today, what are you each most proud of when it comes to this show? 

Toya: I'm proud of the growth. I'm proud of like, as it comes to Reginae. Like, you know, Reginae has done multiple shows. And I think with this show, you get to see how much she's grown over the years, you get to see her go through what she's going through and still come out super strong. And back to working. You know, people automatically think things are handed to her. But like she said, because of who her parents are, but you actually get to see how she's evolving, and you know, finding a way on her own. And with my family like you get to see like, how much we love each other, like how much we are there for each other and are fighting for these relationships to get stronger and stronger. And just being there and supporting each other, whatever, which is very, very important in these days and these times. Although we have the drama, and you know, we got some family members that are you know… them. You know, we still find a way to love on each other and be there and support each other no matter what.

Reginae: I would say… what my mom said. (Laughter)

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. Also, watch ‘Toya & Reginae’ on Thursdays on WE tv at 9/8 CST.

Alex Mandel is a highly accomplished composer that has written songs and music for a bevy of beautiful films, including Brave. Alex’s current project is The Inventor, where he composed a moving soundtrack and musical numbers for its all-star cast to perform and we had the honor of sitting down with Alex to discuss his latest work.
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John Betancourt: What was it that got you into composing in the first place?

Alex Mandel: Yeah, I… from a very, very young age, I just was attracted to music and my mom says that when I was in the crib, if I heard music, I would turn and listen. Or if she maybe like sang something, I’d really pay attention. And I started playing piano when I was about three and guitar when I was about six, because I played it on my lap. You know, I've been playing music my whole life. And to me, it's always just been an incredibly deep well of enjoyment and study, and I just love it. You can never get to the bottom of it. You know, there's just so much there. So yeah, and then I think I heard Cheap Trick on the radio. And I was like, “I want to be a rock star!” So, I formed a band first when I was about 12, and played in bands until I was about 31 or something. And then I got a job at Pixar. And people started asking me to do music for their projects. So that was sort of the transition from being in rock bands and playing gigs and recording albums and, and then trying to learn to score, about last 20 years I've been scoring.
John Betancourt: What is it you love about composing?

Alex Mandel: I think what's so great is, I mean, I've been lucky to work with incredibly talented writers and directors and you know, Mark Andrews on Brave, of course, Jim Capobianco on The Inventor. Dan Scanlon on Tracy, Anthony Lucero on East Side Sushi. So, what happens is, you get to really know people, because the relationship between the director and the composer is… it's really close. Like, I can't write music unless I really understand the story and the characters. So sometimes in these conversations, you really learn something about the creator of it, the person who's writing the story. And a lot of the directors want to be my friends, because it's pretty intimate. You know, like, of all the things you could write about, why are you writing about this? You know, why is this? What's the feeling that you have in this scene, and, and then you have to dig into it. So, it's a really interesting craft and process. And then of course, I'm like a translator. I, luckily, being at Pixar for 10 years, like I learned a lot about filmmaking. And so, I'm translating a filmmaker’s language into the musical language. And it's tempting to use musical language, but really, you're talking about emotions, and arc and character and story and then, and then you try something. And you have to be humble and know that music is subjective. So, what you're again, trying to figure out what makes this, what moves this creator and this director? And that's just a fascinating process, you know?

John Betancourt: A process I do want to dive into deeper in a moment. But not before we get a chance to learn… what excited you about this project.

Alex Mandel: Well, the first thing is just Jim and I worked together on his Ratatouille short, which was called Your Friend the Rat. And it was our first project together. And it was so fun. And what I noticed is, once we got going, Jim is very open to crazy ideas. Like what if we did, you know, kind of “out jazz” in theis scene? Or what if you know, and he's very open to things that are not typical. And I really liked that about working with him. So, the same thing happened on The Inventor. We started out, “well, should we have like Renaissance music?” But in discussions, it was like, “Well, we've already got a puppet that's quite caricature. It's a beard with little beady eyes. And it's a genius, the greatest genius ever lived. So, there's already this distance between us and that figure.” So, we talked about how can we make the music both feel true to the time and also give people a way in, emotionally? What's been interesting is I think there's a lot of people seem to really like it. And some people are confused, like, it's not Renaissance music, but it doesn't have hooks like popular music. So, it's, it's different, you know, but I was really excited to work with Jim and really excited to, because I knew we could try something new. And we could do something wild and have a Monty Python song and a really heartfelt song, and a song based on a piece by Montiverde and he's just very open and voracious in his tastes. So that just makes it a lot of fun to work with Jim.

John Betancourt: Now in diving in to the creative process, I noticed that this movie uses a variety of themes and just a variety of choices as to where the music takes you. How did you and Jim decide to use the themes you used?

Alex Mandel: Yeah, I mean, it started out... I think there was one song initially in the script. And Jim had this… it's just a brilliant idea. It's the scene where Leonardo comes to -- and his workshop is the Château de Close Lucé, which, if you ever get a chance to go there, it's it looks exactly like it does in the movie. I… when I finally got there, I kind of had this weird Déjà vu because I'd written the songs in the bedroom where Leonardo da Vinci died. And there it was! I mean, when he goes out the window, there's the window! It was wild. But we started there. And, and, you know, that's so… only Jim would think of that. “I'm gonna have a scene where the wall there's a blank canvas, and the walls come up, and you see very clearly the underlying medium of stop motion.” And, and so then I thought, “Oh, how I love a blank canvas.” You know, like, that's the beginning. And so, that's an example where Jim's conception of the scene really informs the lyric. And we wanted to express all the various projects, the multitude of projects da Vinci worked on, including many, most he didn't finish, you know, so there's this long list. So, every song had a different origin. The big one, I think, was “From This Tiny Seed”, and the Mona Lisa moment, which is how do you dramatize a moment where someone discovers the meaning of life? I mean, that's a tall order. You don't… you, you want to be clear. But you…  if you just say, “I know what the meaning of life is! It’s this” Well, that's tough, right? Dramatically. That's not very satisfying.

So, it just evolved over time that we had this piece of music from this tiny seed, and then which is based on the multivariate piece. And then we had the Mona Lisa song, which represents the point where he's lowest. And then we have the moment where the two come, it transitions from one into another. So, what I'm describing, not very well, is a very organic, iterative process, which is unique to animation. Because you have time and you try things, and if it doesn't work, you try something new. And then you say, “I got it!” And then you have this moment of epiphany, which is then reflected in the art itself. So, it's just a very, it's a very rewarding and challenging and inhuman process. You know, I love that it's not a genre picture. It's a picture that's about the creative process and the meaning of it of being a creative person. So that was pretty cool.

John Betancourt: I think that’s a perfect way to describe the process. Now you mentioned challenges. What kinds of challenges came forth in assembling this score?

Alex Mandel: Well, yeah, challenges. I mean, luckily, I had a great music team. One challenge was our budget was quite limited. And so initially, I was going to record the whole thing in New Zealand, but we wanted to have some larger orchestral pieces. We wound up realizing that we could record 40 strings, in Budapest and Budapest scoring has a wonderful group of musicians there. And then I recorded the brass and the woodwinds and a string quintet in New Zealand. And then I did the guitars, the lutes, myself, I taught myself the Renaissance lute. I mean, so that was a challenge, getting our lute made in time. Because the waiting list is like a year. Luckily, the luthier squeezed me in, someone cancelled. So, he squeezed me in. So, there were challenges. I mean, I guess another challenge is, you know, Stephen Fry had said, when we were recording this, I literally can't sing. And so, in the moment, we had to come up with a creative solution. And I think you know, the scene I'm talking about, with the Mona Lisa song, we came up with a creative solution, which to me, was even better. And to me, that's a challenge, but it's the best type of challenge, like, what do you do? I can't say, “Okay, give me 45 minutes, I'm going to rewrite the lyrics. And we've got a different approach.” And, you know, we don't… it's not like we can have multiple voice recording. But yeah, it was… every challenge had a solution and finding the solution is a really rewarding process for us.

John Betancourt: Well, I have learned a lot about Lutes today. I had no idea there was a long list to have those made.

Alex Mandel: Talk about geek culture. There's a very small number of Luthiers that make Renaissance Lutes. And there's a bit more people who want them. So, there you go.

John Betancourt: I’m so looking into all of this after we finish talking, I do have to know more. Now, I sense a lot of passion and joy in your voice about this project and for music in general, what was it you enjoyed the most about working on this project?

Alex Mandel: Just… Jim Capobianco. Jim is such a unique artist. And he's, you know, legendary in the field because he came out of Cal Arts and wrote the scene in Lion King, where the father says to Simba is their ancestors are in the stars, which is to me like the heart, one of the hearts of that film because it feels authentic. And just to imagine the young Jim, you know, researching West African folklore and saying, “what about this?” So, Jim is such a unique artist, and it's so fun -- to he's very open to collaboration and very open to different ideas, you know. And so that makes it really, really rewarding. And also, the subject matter. I mean, you're dealing with a very complex and interesting historical character, but you're doing it in the style of Rankin and Bass and with hand drawn animation, I mean, it's just all that, it’s just, this is a movie for people who are like, “I like things that are different. I like things that don't fit neatly into a box.” And, and like, yeah, like that experience of being challenged, but amused, but also, you know, intrigued by something, a unique vision. So, for me, that makes it really fun to work with, with Jim and, and the crew. The amazing, talented crew, you know, in France and Valance, and Saint-Péray. And they’re just… remarkable. So, all of it. Just all the people that were attracted to the movie are people that are really passionate about animation and about storytelling and independent filmmaking. That's really fun.

John Betancourt: Now that this movie is out in the world, what are you hoping audiences experience emotionally from your score.

Alex Mandel: Well, I mean, that's an interesting question. While they're watching the movie, I hope that they're just immersed in it, and they're transported, you know, to a world of creativity and something no AI would create, I mean, just something very human and a very, very unique vision and for the score. I hope people will, if they listen closely, will see that there's… there's a lot of thought that went into the score. Each character has an instrument. Each idea has a motif and a theme. Those themes are passed from one character to another. They're developed and combined, and there's a lot of underlying detail there. I hope people listen to the score on its own afterwards, because it's just beautifully recorded. You know, we've got a 55-piece orchestra at times, a string quintet, just some wonderful players. You know, the, the principles from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, just amazing musicians recorded beautifully by John Neill in New Zealand and mixed by Mark Willsher. So, there's… there's so much talent in the recording and in the orchestrations by Ewan Clark. I mean, it's just… it was such an honor to work with this caliber of musician, so I hope people listen to it and appreciate all that.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this project?

Alex Mandel: I'm most proud of the fact that we stuck with it. You know, we stuck with the process. It took a long time. And you know, again, this… some projects you do, are about compensation. And some are about love, and some are about both, but this was a passion project for both me and Jim. And I'm proud that we stuck with it and Jim was happy with the work and that we got it out there with total creative freedom and this is, I’m proud to make a work of art that refuses to just fit in a box. And that represents a really unique vision. And for people who like that, I think they'll like this a lot. This is quite different. If people come in with an idea of what they think it's gonna be. I think that you need to come in with an open mind and be absorbed into this vision.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Suk Pannu is a talented writer that has breathed life into stories across multiple mediums, such as novels and radio shows, and television shows as well. Currently, his latest project is the Acorn TV series, Mrs Sidhu Investigates, and we here at NTG the distinct honor of sitting down with Suk to discuss the creation of this incredible new show.
 
John Betancourt: I would love to know, to start with, what it was that inspired the creation of this character in this universe in general start with?
 
Suk Pannu: Well, that that comes kind of out of my childhood, you know, growing up in an immigrant area of Britain. And I was trying to explain… is Slough a place that you're familiar with at all?
 
John Betancourt: Unfortunately, It is not.
 
Suk Pannu: Okay, so I’ve got to try and make some comparison to what it might be in the States, kind of… an industrial town. It might be Scranton, it might be… somebody said, Newark, or somewhere like that. But it's kind of a town that it's the underdog. Do you know what I mean? It's kind of, you know, a lot of immigrants moved there in the 50s and 60s from Britain's colonies, you know, to work basically. But because it's a sort of concrete jungle, it's kind of looked down on a bit, but also because it's planted right in the middle of the most fabulous, rich part of Britain. So, kind of, like a few miles away is Windsor Castle, where royalty live, Eaton College is the other direction just a couple of miles away, where you know, all our prime ministers have been educated. The Cheviot Hills, Cookham, the Thames. It's all beautiful, beautiful, lush countryside. And when I grew up, we were you know, basically brought up by my parents, but we're also brought up by our Auntie's, and these aunties were great. They gave you lots of love, lots of great food, but they also kind of knew everything you were up to, sometimes even before you knew it yourself. So, I think everyone's got Auntie's like that. But I kind of had a whole host of them. And I thought, you know, one day, wouldn't it be great, if you know, one of these women was an amateur sleuth, kind of Slough’s answer to Miss Marple. So, and later on, I went on, and I come from writing comedy. And I wrote a lot of comedy involving Meera (Syal), we worked on a show called The Kumars at No. 42, for many years, and I thought, wouldn't it be great to do something with her. And she loved the idea of the character, you know, we talked about it. And so, it was born.
 
John Betancourt: Now something that I noticed about this show, is that it is a very nontraditional crime show, which I very much appreciated. What went into the decision to make it so incredibly realistic?
 
Suk Pannu: Yeah, it's really interesting, because, you know, in some ways, you're saying, “Oh, this is a Miss Marple update.” You know, “Immigrant Miss Marple,” this sort of thing. You can, you know, put that sort of high concept idea onto it. But it's got to be now. And the way the police operate now is completely different. You watch or read an old Marple, the policeman basically says, “Yeah, you do it.” (laughter) “You've done a few of these, just crack on.” And I think that would have felt quite, you know, you could do it, but it would have taken the show in a different direction. And some of it has to do with the chemistry between Meera Syal, who is our superstar, an absolutely wonderful actress, who really kind of exudes the part. And Craig is such, you know, playing such an acerbic, kind of misanthropic cop who's been through this hellish divorce, this hellish you know, married life, and now he's having a hellish time as a single person. And I think their chemistry really gelled and that it felt so grounded, that you could get away with this sort of slightly more amateur sleuth concept, which is always hard to pull off.
 
John Betancourt: Now that leads me right into my next question. With this being an amateur sleuth show and then also such a nontraditional crime show, what kind of challenges did you run into in assembling something this ambitious?
 
Suk Pannu:  I think that I mean, it goes to your last question about where do you establish the level of reality for a show like this? Sorry… I am very much admiring your Trek Memorabilia on your wall.
 
John Betancourt: Oh! Thank you. Big nerd what can I say.
 
Suk Pannu: I am a huge fan myself, all the way from The Original Series.
 
John Betancourt: Oh, same here for sure.
 
Suk Pannu: So, I think science fiction shows face a similar problem too, yeah? Where is the line of reality in this because, you know, they're obviously very unreal, they’re in the future. And so, I think it was just getting that, right. Particularly, it came from a radio show, and you can do different things in a radio show to how they're going to be on telly. And so, once we got it, it just felt right. and as you cross the series, I think their relationship develops into a more, you know, friendly one, if you like, a more accepting one, you know, across the series, but it starts off with kind of very much hostility. She's in his face, he's arrested her niece, he's in her face, he doesn't need amateurs telling him how to do the job. And I think you take your lead from there.
 
John Betancourt:  Obviously, this is a very, very important project to you on a personal level, what does it mean to you to have this so close to debuting, and audiences being able to see it?
 
Suk Pannu: Oh, it means such a huge amount to me. I mean, it's come from where I grew up, it's come from, you know, inside me, and it's not… you know, it's not like, you work on a lot of projects, of course, you put everything into them. But it isn't like, “Oh, my God, this is the one I wanted to do all these years.” So, it is a heart and soul project. It means everything. The other thing I think is so important, is that it's kind of she's, she's a breakout character. She's somebody who takes like, kind of the wisdom and the Hard Knocks from her own culture. But is able to go out into this kind of bigger, glossy, high stakes world. So as an immigrant, you know, I don't get hugely political about it. You know, we talked about white saviors, well she's kind of a brown savior, she's, she's inverting that trope, going out into the world and saying, “Look, you know, we can solve your problems, you know, we can go out there and do it.” It feels liberating to me as a person of color it, you know, and I hope it feels entertaining, but kind of also grounded to people looking at it and going, “Yeah, you know, she crosses two worlds.” Like I do, you know, I live in two cultures. So, it's very personal.
 
John Betancourt: With that in mind, obviously, there's a lot of personal meaning that you want to get across and a lot of a lot of underlying stuff that you want to impress upon the audience, what else would you want the audience to take away from this first season?
 
Suk Pannu: I want them to have fun. This whole, this kind of stuff, the crime, the amateur sleuth, the murder mystery thriller, you know, I think it got kind of revived with Knives Out, that kind of thing. You know, you're seeing Only Murders in the Building, you know, so this is kind of alive again, you know, having been kind of on the back burner for a while, I think or perhaps looked down a little bit. So, I think I want people to appreciate it, but it's quite a sophisticated medium, to convey what the stories -- you can do serious stuff, you know, within it. And I think the joy of it is it's a game between -- more than almost any other genre -- it's a game between the audience and the show, and I don't know about you, but when I when I sit on the sofa with my wife at night watching a crime show, all we're saying is “Oh, he did it” from scene one, you know? Going, “he must have done it. No, no, no, no, it can't be him. Because… oh! Because of the other thing. It must be just because of the way she looked at that other guy.” And so, it's full of that, that kind of to and fro. So, it's, again, it's another challenge to build that layer in, the unguessability, part of it, that kind of half, trying to make it hard because we know everyone's looking at it going, must be them, must be them, must be them. You've got to throw in more surprises. So, I want people to take away the joy of that cross cultural meeting. And the joy of just having a mystery laid out for me.
 
John Betancourt: Now, you bring up a good point, in talking about Knives Out, what other mystery influences kind of went into this show?
 
Suk Pannu: Well, you know, I kind of always wanted to write crime. You know, I sort of grew up… escapist stuff was great for me growing up, I was living across two cultures. So, science fiction, and kind of cozy crime, very escapist worlds. I think by getting people to escape, you can do stuff in them that is harder to do in straight up drama, you can deliver morals and messages and all sorts of things in there in a lighter way. So, it was nice to be able to do that. But definitely, you know, Sherlock definitely, Marple all those kind of what they call “Golden Age Mysteries” But as I grew older and started watching, and I actually love American shows, I love the tone of shows like Castle, you know that that run this -- Monk I loved – but you know, that run a comedic line, and yet deliver this very satisfying mystery and can sometimes do serious bits and pieces too. But to have that kind of scope. You know that that level of camps is what kind of made me really happy to do it.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have for you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to what you've accomplished here?
 
Suk Pannu:  Gosh, I think… I think that's all I've been saying. (Laughter) What I'm proud of, I think, you know, when you a writer, you ask yourself, “what are you doing?” You're kind of scribbling out these words. You know, you write down things like this will be in a mansion in Berkshire. And on the day, you go to set someone's found you one… I think that's kind of exciting. I dunno if it makes me proud, I think the first day worked, walked on set, I really did feel proud for my family. You know, everyone who's backed me, looked after me, my wife, everyone who has supported me… to go… here it is. The could all these cranes, look at this, you know, a fairytale world in itself, you know, in which we're going to build a fairytale. So, I'm proud to deliver. If you watched it and people watching go, “I didn't guess the guy at the end, I had some laughs and I really understood it.” I think I'm proud.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.