The second season of BYUtv’s original drama series Granite Flats premieres tonight (Sunday, April 6, 2014), promising “more Cold War suspense and drama to entertain the entire family.” The ensemble show, inspired by actual, little known military events, is full of intrigue, secrets, and family drama, and the second season promises some big name guest stars in addition to the show’s regular cast, including Christopher Lloyd (Back To The Future), Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), Ivan Sergei (Jack & Jill), and Finola Hughes (Charmed). If you don’t get BYUtv in your area, the program is available to watch at graniteflats.com.
In anticipation of the show’s premiere, we interviewed one of the show’s lead actors, Richard Gunn, who plays Granite Flats’ vigilant Chief of Police, John Sanders. Sanders is suspicious of strange events that are happening around town and gets drawn deeper into a world of espionage and Cold War secrets as the series goes on. Sanders is also the father of Timmy (Charlie Plummer), one of the trio of kid sleuths that play a part in the series.
You might recognize Gunn from his role on the FOX series Dark Angel. His other credits include Dexter, CSI, The Mentalist, and the feature film For The Love Of Money.
As we usually try to do around here, we’re presenting our interview in a Q&A format. Our questions to Mr. Gunn are posted in bold; his answers are not.
KSITETV’s CRAIG BYRNE: Can you talk about Sanders’ relationship with his son Timmy and how that dynamic might change as time goes on?
RICHARD GUNN: My character has five children – two girls and three boys. Timmy’s the youngest of everybody, and the older two boys are very much easier for my character to understand, because I can relate to them. When I talk to them, they do what I say. Timmy’s a little hard for me to connect with. So, a lot of Season 1 is about me kind of finding a path to connect with my son, and realizing, through my wife’s pointing it out and different things that happen on the show, that we’re a lot more alike than I had originally thought. He has the same investigative nature, and a lot of passion that my character actually has, but is more reserved about expressing it.
Have you considered at all what Timmy would grow up to be like? Do you think he’d grow up to be like you?
Now that all of this has been revealed, I think that he will probably be a lot more like me than the other two boys, in the end.
Can you talk about the guest stars who are coming in for Granite Flats Season 2?
Christopher Lloyd is coming in to play a character called Professor Hargraves, who is a new teacher to the children, teaching them about Shakespeare. He’s eccentric and very passionate about literature. He’s explaining the story of Hamlet to them, which ties in to the story of what’s going on in town. And then there’s also Cary Elwes, who plays a character called Ashmead who is a CIA agent. He comes to town to check on the progress of MKUltra. At least, that’s what he says he’s there to do, but really he has an ulterior motive.
What is John Sanders afraid of?
Well, certainly my character is afraid of the impending doom of a nuclear attack, but that’s a very generalized thing that’s going on in the whole country at that time. Moreso, he’s afraid of something happening to his family. If that would happen, that would be a crushing blow.
Is it true that other historic events of the early 60s are going to be reflected in Granite Flats Season 2?
In Season 2, there will be one very major story point that will be reflected in the show.
What else can you say about the April 6 season premiere?
The season premiere kind of takes the suspense and action elements of the show to a new level. I think it’s going to be very exciting.
What sets Granite Flats apart from a lot of the shows that we see on broadcast TV right now?
The biggest thing, I think, is that it’s a show that can appeal to both children and adults, and that families – the adults will be okay with their children watching – and it’s still an intelligently written and well-done TV show that can hold anybody’s interest across the board. I think the major appeal is that it’s something that can be watched as a family.
What other projects do you have coming up?
I am actually filming [a movie] this summer. It’s called “Ghost Station” and it’s starring Mischa Barton. We’re shooting in Toronto this summer. It takes place in a haunted subway station.
Don’t miss the season premiere of Granite Flats on BYUtv today. Check byutv.org for exact air times or to watch online!
