Shadowhunters: Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer and Matt Hastings at NYCC
Photo credit: ABC/Lou Rocco, acquired from Freeform Press Site
Shadowhunters showrunners Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer joined director Matt Hastings at NYCC to preview Season 3, which premieres on Freeform in April.
Even though Shadowhunters doesn’t return until Spring 2018, executive producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer reunited with director Matt Hastings in New York to start previewing Season 3 for fans. We’ve previously learned that Season 3 will incorporate additional horror and suspense elements (even more so than in Season 2B), but with the addition of Lilith as a central antagonist, the darker tone seems very fitting.
“The three of us work very hard to reinvent the show, the way the show looks and feels and tastes,” Hastings said. “I think tonally the show has shifted; it’s become a lot more spooky and more in the vein of Polanski and Hitchcock… it’s really much more of a slow-burn suspense and mysterious. We still have the blazing action scenes and all that jazz, but it really is diving into the character with both feet. From the outside in, when you’re fighting demons, it’s not a happy, spunky place — it’s serious.” Hastings then went on to reassure us that though the demon hunting will amp up the real-world stakes, the relationships within the context of the plot will continue to be the cornerstone of the series.
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“We’re trying to let the show breath a little more,” Slavkin said. “The tone is a little more adult this year, and a little more mature. Some of that is just deepening relationships.” Anna Hopkins is joining the cast as Lilith this season, and Slavkin also teased the character’s origin and motive in Season 3. “It’s a villain that has an incredible, emotional through-line,” he said. “The best villains are the ones we can relate to emotionally, and this actress is going to blow you away.”
One of the major cliffhangers at the end of Season 2 was Ollie’s discovery that Luke was a werewolf, and we’re told that the progression of that storyline will be a highlight in 2018. “You have who’s somebody from the mundane world who’s kind of like, ‘What’s going on over here?’ That was a fascinating idea for us for a long time,” Swimmer explained. “We were always trying to figure out how to find somebody to bring in that who’s not part of our core people.” The story will also help set up some major conflicts for Luke, increasing his screen time in Season 3.
Watch the full Shadowhunters interview below:
Next: Alisha Wainwright and Isaiah Mustafa tease S3!
Shadowhunters Season 3 will premiere Tuesday, April 3 at 8/7c on Freeform and on the Freeform App. Check back with Hidden Remote later this year for more news about the series!