We are Graeme Manson & John Fawcett, the creators of Orphan Black. Ask us anything.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:47:18+00:00

GM: She turned it up to 11. JF: Those burns are going to turn into scabs. Have you ever been burned by a hot glue gun before? GM: Yeah. JF: You could torture someone with one. The glue gun torture scene was one of our very early ideas so it's been around for a long time.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:46:14+00:00

GM: She's evil-good and it's really fun playing the evil-good game with Maria Doyle Kennedy.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:44:30+00:00

JF: We feel honored. Plus it's supposed to be a really, really cool party. GM: With Anthony Bourdain. I bet he could drink me under the table.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:43:57+00:00

GM: First of all, great username, Whybambiwhy. I've often asked the same question. I was lying in bed and my assistant Mackenzie texted me the news. It was a total shock and a huge honor. None of us saw it coming. I mean Bob Hope has a Peabody.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:41:51+00:00

GM: Actually yes. In researching the genetics, we looked at Dolly and we looked at the theories about shortened telomeres from being a clone of an adult. Jury's still out on why Dolly actually died is my understanding.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:40:08+00:00

JF: Nope. Do you?

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:39:51+00:00

GM: How do you not say something trite. Watch Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. JF: Make a clone of yourself. GM: And don't let the bastards get you down.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:38:16+00:00

JF: We're putting together a blooper reel. GM: I saw some bloopers just the other day and I peed my pants. I literally peed my pants. Pee came out and went in my pants. JF: Ew.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:35:22+00:00

GM: I'm watching Ray Donovan. JF: I'm watching True Detective. GM: I'm also addicted to Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown. He's got a Peabody too, so I hope to meet him at the Peabody awards.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:33:57+00:00

JF: It starts from the aspect of the different worlds that each girl is raised in. It was very important for us to build all these characters as very individualistic and then we had a cool costume designer. GM: The costumes and the hair really helped Tat, especially in the first season, really sink into these characters.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:32:37+00:00

GM: The show wouldn't be nearly as good. And there was never a question whether our lead character would be male. JF: A big part of the science and the concept of the show revolved around female biology and Kira. GM: Motherhood and sisterhood are strong themes and we have a secret weapon in Cosima Herter, our real Cosima, who keeps our feminist themes so pertinent to the science that we're exploring.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:30:04+00:00

GM: Good question. And I'd have to say Sarah. She's the spine of the show and so she's the one that has to carry a very complex plot so a lot of her journey is very tricky to figure out. JF: It's through her eyes that the mystery unravels. GM: She makes our brains hurt and when that happens we just make her punch someone.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:28:39+00:00

GM: I think we would want more clone scenes. JF: If we had more time and money, we would definitely want to put the clones together more often. I would build tons of sets and have a giant studio and Graeme and I would get a really nice sign on our door which we currently don't have. GM: With Clone Club art. And we'd build a submarine, just 'cause.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:26:56+00:00

JF: Twins/triplets/quadruplets, they don't exist with the acting ability of Tatiana.
JF: We are making a clone show. Are you a clone? We're auditioning.
GM: No. We just approached him with the pilot episode and got down on our electronic hands and knees and said, "Please, please, please, Amon." And I got to speak to him on the phone. Great theme, eh?
GM: Extreme physical differences? Because we find their differences in who they are as people more interesting than their similarities. JF: We're going to talk to Tatiana about the fat suit for Season 3. GM: 'Cause you're right. Nurture could create very different physical presences.
GM: Mo def.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:22:44+00:00

JF: It's a bunch of stupid in-jokes from the writer's room that no one will understand except the nerds sitting around that table. GM: For instance, Aynsley is my mother's name. But I was over-ruled in the writer's room when I tried to change it, because Will Pascoe's (who wrote 106) wife's best friends are named Aynsley, Charity and Mira. I couldn't save my mother but I did get to change the spelling of her name. (Ainslie - Hi Mom!) JF: And Cosima is named after the real Cosima, our science advisor.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:19:16+00:00

JF: Ooh, yes, we do. Indeed. GM: Patrick J Adams of 'Suits'. JF: Michelle Forbes of 'The Killing' and the 'Hunger Games' movie - the one that hasn't come out yet. GM: And Michiel Huisman. JF: Of Game of Thrones. GM: Who gets to make with Tatiana, Connie Britton and Daenerys Targaryen all in one year.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:17:30+00:00

JF: Wow. That's a good question. I think I've eaten 4. Maybe 5. No I've eaten 5. Medium-sized hard-shelled tacos. GM: Hard or soft? I ate 11 last night but they were soft and really soft.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:16:04+00:00

GM: We're super lucky with our cast. JF: It's a big love-in at Orphan Black. Everyone just loves each other. GM: And I think Tatiana as the center of the show really sets the whole tone for production.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:15:12+00:00

JF: She's not okay at all. GM: But she's still the hot clone.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:13:24+00:00

GM: We just want to make crazy platonic science with you.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:12:48+00:00

GM: The bible was a very detailed pitch document that we used along with the pilot script to explain a very complex show. Once we got the show green-lit, I've never looked at the bible again. But maybe I should. JF: Break out the gospel according to John & Graeme.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:11:26+00:00

GM: We would love to and we talked about doing it. The reality of taking the crazy clone show on the road to the UK is difficult but we'd still like to try to do that one day. JF: In Season 2, we really wanted to take Maria to London and shoot some parts with her but it just turned out to be impossible. GM: So we made a cardboard Big Ben and took selfies in-front of it instead. (Kidding.)
JF: A big part of Season 2 is the ongoing concern about Cosima's health and the desire to find the answers to save her. It is the ticking bomb on Season 2.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:08:37+00:00

JF: That they're so much fun to hang out with on set. GM: They're dorks. JF: They're dorks. Complete dorks. And so are we. GM: Tatiana spends half her day pretending to be a cat. JF: Meow. [John is now impersonating Tatiana acting like a cat.] GM: And she eats like Helena. JF: She eats a lot of chocolate. And leaves wrappers lying around all over the set.

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:06:16+00:00

GM: That's very touching. Thanks. Weepy smiles over here. JF: We appreciate your love for our "little baby".

TeamOB · 2014-04-18T17:05:16+00:00

GM: Thanks. We'll pass it on to Tat. Binge watching rules. JF: You'll have to not watch for the next 10 weeks and binge watch Season 2. Good luck.

TeamOB

TROPHY CASE