THE FOLLOWING: Kevin Bacon and Shawn Ashmore on Season 3’s New Big Bad, the Ryan-Mike Partnership, and More

THE FOLLOWING is back this Monday!

And while the show’s return might be good news for fans, unfortunately it doesn’t bode well for Ryan Hardy and Mike Weston: though Joe is behind bars, their problems are only getting started as they deal with new faces who are stirring up trouble, as well as a mysterious big bad.

I sat down with Kevin Bacon (Ryan) and Shawn Ashmore (Mike) to talk about what’s in store for season 3, their characters’ dynamic, and why Michael Ealy’s Theo is a “big unknown”…

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THE FOLLOWING Bosses on a Ryan Hardy-Centric Season 3, Michael Ealy’s New Big Bad, and More

We’re just three weeks away from the two-hour season premiere of THE FOLLOWING, and things are set to be a bit different when the show returns.

First of all, the Joe Carroll chapter of the series is over. While Carroll made it out alive (and James Purefoy’s Carroll will appear on the show)  — thanks to an alternate ending not making the final cut —  the focus of the show will shift more fully to Kevin Bacon’s Ryan Hardy. (And Ryan will have to contend with a new baddie this season.)

There’s also been a behind-the-scenes transition in showrunners, as THE FOLLOWING creator Kevin Williamson has handed over showrunner duties to a trio of show vets: writers/executive producers Brett Mahoney and Alexi Hawley, as well as director/executive producer Marcos Siega. (Williamson has been focused on CBS’ STALKER.)

I spoke with Mahoney and Hawley about the transition to showrunning THE FOLLOWING, “moving the center of the show,” why fans of THE FOLLOWING newbie Michael Ealy will be excited by the season, and more…

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THE FOLLOWING: Marcos Siega and Jennifer Johnson on Keeping Joe Alive, the Stakes for Ryan in Season 3, and More

For two seasons, Ryan Hardy’s obsession with catching Joe Carroll (and the duo’s twisted relationship) drove THE FOLLOWING’s storytelling. But now, Joe has been recaptured — and won’t be escaping — while Ryan will be facing a brand new threat in season 3.

So how will the series handle the massive shift in the show’s dynamic? And why did they ultimately opt to keep Joe alive after filming an alternate ending where he was killed? After the show’s Comic-Con panel, director/executive producer Marcos Siega and new showrunner Jennifer Johnson spoke with reporters about that, how James Purefoy (Joe) handled being in the dark about not knowing his character’s fate, and more…

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THE FOLLOWING: Kevin Bacon and Shawn Ashmore Tease What Ryan and Mike Will Be Up to in Season 3

THE FOLLOWING season 3 will pick up a year after the second season left off, and, understandably, there will be some changes in store.

At Comic-Con, Kevin Bacon (Ryan) and Shawn Ashmore (Mike) talked with reporters about Ryan’s happier mindset, the “rage and revenge” bubbling for Mike, and more…

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THE FOLLOWING’s James Purefoy on the Season 2 Finale: ‘Your Enemy’s Enemy Becomes Your Friend’

As THE FOLLOWING’s second season concludes with Monday’s “Forgive,” Ryan Hardy and Joe Carroll are put in an unfathomable position: they have to work together to save Claire from psycho twins Mark and Luke.

I spoke with THE FOLLOWING star James Purefoy (Joe) about the state of the convoluted relationship between Joe and Ryan, Joe’s reaction to Emma’s death, whether he knows how the season will end, and more…

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THE FOLLOWING: Jessica Stroup Teases Max’s Relationships and Why ‘It’s Good to Be Good’

Max Hardy may have only been introduced to THE FOLLOWING’s viewers this season, but thanks to her Uncle Ryan’s long-time obsession with Joe, she’s no newbie to the cult’s devious ways.

“She’s aware of everything [Joe did last year],” Jessica Stroup (Max) shared. “She’s been in this world: her dad was a firefighter, she’s been going through the cop training, and now she’s finally become a detective. She’s ready for the scary, dangerous situation.”

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THE FOLLOWING: James Purefoy on the Lessons Joe Learned, the ‘Much, Much, Much Bigger’ Goal for Season 2, and More

THE FOLLOWING’s Joe Carroll lives!

James Purefoy’s (Joe) return to the Fox series was hardly a surprise — after all, Purefoy “crashed” the Comic-Con panel last summer to confirm his return — but viewers got their first glimpse of a not-dead (but very bearded) Joe in the final moments of last week’s season premiere.

To get a bit of insight into what Joe has planned next, I spoke with Purefoy about his alter ego…

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THE FOLLOWING’s Kevin Williamson: ‘The Entire Show is Different’ in Season 2

THE FOLLOWING season 1 ended in an explosive manner — literally — and when the show returns for its sophomore season in January, things are drastically different: it’s a year later, Joe’s followers have kept a low-profile (for a bit), Ryan has once again moved away from working with the FBI, and a whole slew of new characters are added to the mix. (Which, given last year’s high fatality count, makes sense.)

For THE FOLLOWING creator Kevin Williamson, he acknowledged that even figuring out what the biggest change between season 1 and season 2 was difficult to nail down.

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THE FOLLOWING’s Kevin Bacon: ‘I Have As Many Questions As You Do’ About What Comes Next

If you’re left wondering what the heck happens next on THE FOLLOWING, you’re not alone: when series star Kevin Bacon (Ryan) spoke with reporters on the carpet last night for his show’s finale event, he admitted he has a lot of questions about where things go from here.

The good news? He does have some ideas of Ryan’s path in season 2.

Take a look at what Bacon had to say….

[youtube]http://youtu.be/fBCilOd1b0I[/youtube]

Related:

THE FOLLOWING Season 1 Finale: Kevin Williamson on Alternate Endings and Season 2

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THE FOLLOWING: James Purefoy on Filming the Pilot’s Chilling Final Scene

For as vocal as I’ve been about my love of THE FOLLOWING, one thing I couldn’t talk about pre-premiere was the absolutely chilling final scene between Joe Carroll and Ryan Hardy: with Carroll locked up again, he (vaguely) laid out his plans to make Ryan his “flawed hero” in their “sequel.”

In order for the series (and their cat and mouse games) to work, that scene had to be solid. You needed to buy Carroll and Hardy as worthy competitors, you needed to feel the tension, and the stakes of what was to come needed to be clear. And for me, I felt it was the best scene in any pilot this year.

When I spoke with James Purefoy about what’s to come for Carroll (look for more from that later this week!), I asked him about the experience of filming that final sequence, and he seemed pleased with it.

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THE FOLLOWING’s Kevin Williamson: “I Don’t Sit Down to Write the Horror; I Sit Down to Write the Moment After It’

Fox’s THE FOLLOWING finally has its series debut tomorrow night (that’s Monday, January 21st at 9 PM), and there’s been a whole lot of talk about it being too violent, too gory, too [insert your choice criticism here]. And while I’m not going to lie and say this show is for every single person — it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s okay — it’s also the most compelling new series of the year.

I sat down with THE FOLLOWING creator Kevin Williamson to talk about the misconceptions about the series, if the first season is self-contained, making a “hybrid” series, and more…

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