SMALLVILLE Producer Brian Peterson Teases the Final Season

After having its long-awaited return unexpectedly postponed a week, SMALLVILLE is finally back on our television screens Friday night to kick off the concluding episodes of the series.

Give Me My Remote chatted with SMALLVILLE executive producer Brian Peterson about the pressures of the final hours, Clark, Lois, the return of Chloe and if we might see a familiar superhero suit before the series ends…

I imagine it’s been quite a whirlwind for you with the final episodes fast approaching.
Brian Peterson: Yeah, the last season doesn’t get any less busy or less crazy. Probably way more, actually.

Is everything going faster than you anticipated it would?
BP: From the beginning [of the season] at Comic-Con, we had said that this year is about looking backward, but also about pushing on. And we really wanted to give that hope and move on with the hope of the future. That was really important to us to do [in] the first half, to promise what was to come in the second [half].

Have you mapped out the final episode?
BP: We’re kind of just starting and in the middle of that right now.

How hard is that process for you guys emotionally?
BP: Emotionally, it’s like knowing that you’re ending a ten-year relationship. Knowing that it may be the right thing, but it’s still very difficult at the same time. Because you’re attached to all the crew, the cast — but you’re also attached to the characters, because you spend as much time with the characters every day as you do everybody else.

How much pressure are you feeling as you work on the series finale? Is it like, “Oh my God, we have to get this person in and do this, this and that all in one episode”?
BP: Oh, you have no idea. [Laughs] A lot. A lot of pressure.

Is there anything you wish that Clark had been able to do in these ten years that you haven’t and you won’t be able to do?
BP: Not really. I mean, there are a couple little stories that we toyed with, but to be honest we’re really trying to cram everything that we wanted to do into this last season, in this last run [of episodes].

Very glad to hear that. Clark has obviously had a lot of important people in his life these ten seasons. Which familiar faces can fans expect to see return?
BP: Martha Kent is coming back in episode thirteen. And then Jonathan Kent is coming back in another episode which we may be flipping so I can’t say which one right now. But he’s definitely locked in for another episode. You know, Lionel Luther’s there for a couple of episodes, so it’s a lot of the family back. It’s nice, it’s fun.

Very fun! We have to talk about Chloe’s return. What can you tease about her reappearance?
BP: She has a great arc, I’m really happy with her arc. Our goal going into it was not to just play off [the] Chlollie [relationship] — even though that was part of it — but it was also to really hit on Chloe and Clark’s relationship. Chloe and Lois. Chloe and Martha. Chloe has been a really pivotal part of our show for so long that we really wanted to pay each of those [relationships] off. We have some very high drama, some very exciting action, and a lot of fun. Just a lot of fun in this round, which I’m excited about.

Do you think the Chloe fans will be satisfied with how her arc ends?
BP: I would never want to second guess how a fan is going to feel, but I will hope [they are]. I will hope desperately that they will be happy.

I’m sure her fans will be happy to hear that. So let’s talk about Lois. What will her journey be in these final episodes?
BP: We really want to highlight a couple episodes about her journalism and her growth as a journalist. [Plus], the growing pains of her early relationship with Clark as her career and his career — if you will — as the Blur kind of impacts their own personal life. There’s going to be a little of that; not too much soap opera, but definitely real issues that they would be facing in their relationship.

I think it’s also nice for fans to see them dealing with that. I’d imagine a lot of fans weren’t really expecting to see what happens after the happily ever after for Lois and Clark, so it’s nice to see them in the honeymoon period.
BP: Yeah, there’s a little after the happily ever after and before the happily ever after all wrapped into one.

Are we actually going to see a Lois and Clark wedding?
BP: We’re working out the details on that.

Is there anything you want to say to the fans of the show?
BP: You know, we’re just really happy with the fact that we have a lot of fans that are just really passionate. And it feels like these last couple years…there’s a lot of really creative and intellectual debate that happens. And when you talk to them or glance on the boards, it’s not just scathing reviews or happy peer reviews. It’s a lot about heroism and the characters, and a lot of really spirited discussion and debate. And to watch that is awesome, you know, and we love that people are so engaged in the characters that they’ve stuck with it this long.

Before I let you go, there is one question I have to ask. Your gorgeous posters feature Clark’s reflection wearing the iconic Superman suit. Is it possible we might see this before the series finale?
BP: We are definitely going to address both the Clark Kent identity and the Superman identity and so that identity is a big topic of discussion in creating the season finale.

Will you be tuning in to the final episodes of SMALLVILLE? If so, what do you hope to see?

Related:

SMALLVILLE Producer Brian Peterson: ‘The door is open’ for Michael Rosenbaum to return

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And to be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/givememyremotetv