The Ark: Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, and Reece Ritchie interview

Are you ready for another character-driven story that happens to be set in space? The Ark is all about that, and the leads share what to expect.

Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, and Reece Ritchie play the three lieutenants on The Ark. They are suddenly thrown into leadership roles after the captain and the rest of those above them are killed in a freak accident.

If only that was all that was the problem. Everything about the mission is failing. They all need to work together if they want to survive, but they all have different philosophies to make that happen.

What can we expect in the series? The three leads tease their characters while discussing what drew them into the series in the first place.

Being pulled into The Ark?

Ritchie immediately shares that it was that the three leads were completely unqualified. After all, everyone has felt that way in a job at some point in their lives.

"“It’s just so fun to get to play that as an actor, to play a character that doesn’t know what’s going on…What I loved about the show was the pace. It didn’t apologize or build up…it threw you into the deep end…it was cool to experience that on set.”"

Burke continued that with how despite it being set in space, it is something that we can all relate to.

"“I think it’s also super relatable. I think a lot of the reactions we have are what everyday people would have.”"

Fleeshman went on to share how most space shows have someone wise to offer advice, and that’s not the case in this one.”

"“[Captain Kirk is] dead. It’s like Lord of the Flies in space? It’s a very unusual premise.”"

Teasing the individual characters

We know the characters are thrown into the deep end, but what can we expect from them? Fleeshman shared that they would only get two episodes at a time, film them, and then get the next set. This gave them all chance to try to guess what was going on.

"“We were always wrong…They keep you guessing all the way through to the final episode.”"

This is a story that has been written well. Everyone gets a rollercoaster ride, and Ritchie mentions that the series is not afraid to kill off characters. Of course, with a series that immediately starts with the show killing off all the leadership, we should probably expect that.

Did it help not knowing how it would end? Did that make it easier to have genuine reactions to the reveals?

"“I don’t know if it helped, but I think it was fun getting to make a bold choice and then the next episode was the opposite of the choice you made. Then you were like ‘how do I make this work,’ but I think that’s life?”"

The series is all about the unexpected hero becoming the true hero, and we get to see that development play out. It was difficult for the actors, but it sounds like a lot of fun. They actors did get some of their backstories when they needed it, though.

Ritchie also compared it to movies where everything wraps up quickly compared to a TV series with more time to develop the storylines.

"“Having two episodes at a time, there was so much stuff in the episode. You devoted to honor what they’d written in the episodes that you didn’t have the time or capacity to worry about what was coming.”"

Check out the full interview with Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, and Reece Ritchie below:

The Ark premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 1 on SYFY. Catch up the following day on Peacock.