‘Will Trent’ producers talk Season 3’s mariachi band, disco fever dream
With 18 episodes, Season 3 of ABC’s “Will Trent” was the show’s longest yet. The length enabled the show’s producers to juggle more storylines and give secondary characters more room to breathe.
“We have a big writing staff and this gave us more big-swing opportunities and one-offs,” said co-executive producer Daniel Thomsen (“Westworld,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”). “Why not do an episode (Episode 4) that is inspired by ‘Alias’ fandom?”
Set and shot in Atlanta and based on books written by Atlanta author Karin Slaughter, “Will Trent’s” fan base has continued to grow, making it an easy decision for ABC to give it a fourth season. The two-part season final concluded Tuesday with Will Trent (Ramon Rodriguez) taking down a domestic terrorist group with a sheriff Caleb he discovers is his biological father. He then discovers his boss Amanda (Sonja Sohn) was shot and may die.
“With Will meeting his biological father, it felt like there was something really interesting about putting the life of Amanda, his surrogate mother, in jeopardy,” Thomsen said.
Caleb (Yul Vazquez) will return for season 4, Thomsen said.
The biggest through line of Season 3 has been the shifting dynamics between Georgia Bureau of Investigation detective Will and his on-again, off-again love interest Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), an Atlanta Police Department detective. At the end of Season 2, he had Angie arrested for covering up a murder and various other charges, a move that upended their growing romantic relationship.
At the start of this season, Will went into hiding and had to be drawn out by a childhood friend who happened to be a drug dealer. Angie managed to get her APD job back by Episode 4 after an amusing run as a security guard of a gated community.
The two eventually work together again, but romance is off the table. Instead, each venture into different relationships: Will with an assistant district attorney, Marion (Gina Rodriguez, no relation to Ramon), and Angie with hot doc Seth (Scott Foley).
“They went on separate journeys with new people, but those relationships come to very unexpected ends,” Thomsen said. “People were probably betting Angie would blow it, but we decided to upend expectations.”
Here is how the producers approached other stories from Season 3:
- The season featured Will reuniting with a childhood friend Rafael (Antwayn Hopper), whose family took Will in after he left foster care. Unfortunately, the relationship ended badly and they were estranged for years. “Will and Rafael were essentially brothers before things blew up,” Thomsen said. “We now have a law enforcement officer and someone participating in organized crime. We basically pitted them against each other, but we wanted viewers to care about their relationship as well.”
- Episode 7 featured a tropical storm causing a blackout at the APD office, where someone was killing people amid a birthday party featuring a mariachi band. “That episode started out so huge. It was about getting our arms around it,” said co-executive producer Liz Heldens (“Friday Night Lights,” “The Passage”). “It’s fun to take an environment we’ve always associated with safety and make it scary. It seemed like one of those classic ‘ER’ episodes. It was contained, but there was a big crisis. We put in all the mariachi jokes for a bit of comic relief.”
- During Episode 11, Will accidentally shoots a 14-year-old boy, which leads to his breakup with Marion. “It just felt like that mistake would reverberate with him in such a huge way that it would interfere with the way he saw himself and whether he was worthy of someone else’s love,” Heldens said. “It was a natural way to drive a wedge between him and Marion.” The producers aren’t sure if Marion will return in the future but haven’t ruled it out.
- Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin), Angie’s APD partner, find out he has a brain tumor in Episode 14 and faces life-altering surgery. He collapses at the end of season 3’s finale. “He sees himself as strong and capable,” Heldens said. “He did a great job adjusting to life as a single father. We thought it was time for him to dela with an even bigger curveball... because sometimes, that’s what happens in life.”
- In Episode 16, Will is still grappling with guilt regarding his accidental killing. He embeds himself in a cult, and the cult leader drugs him. He then hallucinates a disco dance scene at the GBI office to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.” “Any time we can see Will’s inner life, it’s just money in the bank,” Heldens said. “His character is so controlled and so tight and so careful about what he shares. He has this rich inner life, and he’s a musical character. This is his brain allowing him to take a break from the trauma he’s in. In the dream, nobody is mad at him and he can say whatever he feels.”
- Early in Episode 17, Angie finds out she’s pregnant with Seth’s child. “It’s something audience members can relate to,” Thomsen said. “Is she worthy of taking care of a child? She had tied herself to a specific fate because she had a crappy mother. But now she’s with someone who is a healthy, functioning adult. He is sober as well. He can help her strive for happiness.” Despite her connection to Seth, who has proclaimed his love for her, this hardly rules out any future relationship with Will. “We’ll see,” Thomsen said. “They have a deep connection. We’re interested to see how this [pregnancy] affects their dynamic.”
If you watch
“Will Trent” Season 3 finale, 8 p.m. Tuesday on ABC, available the next day on Hulu
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
