- 7 hours ago
"I feel like a lot of last season was battling evil from the outside world and this season is really about our demons within," Kebbel told The Hollywood Reporter.
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00:03Hi, this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter and we're in studio today with Ariel
00:08Keppel. Hi Ariel, how are you doing? Good, thank you so much for having me. Thanks for coming in
00:15and congratulations on season two of Midnight Texas. Thank you. Here we go. Yes, yes, here we go.
00:22For people who maybe are just jumping into season two without seeing season one, what is going on
00:29in that town? Good question. We pick up the show a few months later after season one finale and my
00:39character Olivia is happily married to Lem, her vampire husband, which is totally normal for
00:46midnight. And as newlyweds, they're learning how to coexist and share life together, which is a
00:54massive change for Olivia, who is an incredibly independent woman, a badass. I mean, she's an
01:00assassin. So she never thought in her wildest dreams, A, she'd get married, B, she'd even let herself fall
01:08in love and see to a vampire. So they're learning to coexist in this new town and then all of
01:17the
01:17other relationships are going quite well. And then all of a sudden we have these newcomers that come
01:23into town and they're opening a hotel. And so we're kind of going, now what in tarnation would you open
01:31a
01:32hotel in midnight for? Um, cause there's one street in the town and we all go there to get away
01:36from
01:37everyone. So it's like, what are they doing here? And Olivia can't stand it, doesn't trust them.
01:42Some of the midnighters do. So it causes a real, um, conflict within the midnight family. And as the
01:50season goes on, that highlights, you know, like, I feel like a lot of last season was like, um,
01:55um, ex, external, uh, battling evil from the outside world. And this season it's really about,
02:05um, our, our, our demons within. So one of the things that I'm excited for people to see this
02:12season for, um, my character Olivia is that, you know, everyone knows she's a badass. Um, and she,
02:19and she's tough, but any person, um, who's tough on the outside still has wounds on the inside. And,
02:28um, this season, because she's married and really creating this new life with a new partner and
02:35trusting a man for the first time in her life, um, all of a sudden her childhood demons come up
02:43and those wounds that she's protected for so long and made herself strong and made herself
02:48not trust anyone and really vow that she'd never really love anyone again because she was so hurt
02:55as a child. And, um, that causes her to face her father, which is huge in the book series and
03:03we
03:03bring it forward and the show and there's a big confrontation there. And, um, I think for the
03:09first time ever we see, um, we see Olivia vulnerable and, and actually the strength that,
03:18she finds within letting herself be vulnerable is new for her and shocking for her. I hope it's
03:27shocking for the audience too. It was shocking for me to play. Um, and so that's the other thing that
03:33I think is, is so different from season one to season two, because now that we've established
03:38these characters season one, we really get to journey with them season two. And so I, I'm excited
03:44for people to see these layers of Olivia we haven't seen before. And it's so interesting. Um,
03:51Olivia and Lem, they have a psychic connection now. Oh God. Yes. Anticipate her every move,
03:56like knows when she's in trouble or when she's feeling a certain way. So at first it seems amazing.
04:01Like what would happen if you're, if your man knew everything that you were feeling and anticipate
04:06every move. That's what I'm saying. Right. It's like quite sexy. Yes. But then you start to see
04:13some problems with that. Yes. Because people don't necessarily want their feelings being like
04:21transmitted directly to their partner every time they feel them. Their feelings and their thoughts.
04:26I mean, they're, they're everything. There is zero privacy. And yeah, exactly. At first he's like,
04:33you know, making bubble baths before I even say I need one. And it's like, okay, thank you.
04:41And then all of a sudden it's like, get out of my head, you know, and it goes so far
04:48as he can,
04:49he can see and feel her dreams. So literally like nothing is hidden from him. And marriage is tough
04:55enough as it is, you know, you don't need that creeping in. Everyone needs their space,
04:59especially a woman like Olivia. So it's, it's quite challenging. And then of course, on top of
05:04that, we've got the, the pressure from what's happening in midnight wearing on all of us. So
05:10it's, um, you know, they go through some, they go through some real relationship stuff this season,
05:16but any real marriage does. And, um, you know, they find their way. Right. And one of the biggest
05:24problems is that Olivia does not want to be made into a vampire. Right. Yeah. Yep. That's a huge
05:32issue because she married one. Yeah. And, and well, and also part of the reason there's a psychic
05:38connection is at the end of season one, one of the side effects from her drinking his blood to
05:45save her life was, is the psychic connection. So it's, it's kind of this, um, catch 22 because
05:53she's incredibly grateful that the love of her life saved her life. And at the same time,
05:58it's like, it comes at the cost of something she said she never wanted to be a part of.
06:03Right. And so even though she's not fully a vampire, there's still this effect that would
06:07have never been there before. And so that's another layer of the like, oh, how do we deal
06:12with this? You know, like if only, um, which is quite challenging. And me as a Ariel, I'm quite
06:20sensitive, sensitive and like, um, an empath. And so when I read in the script, it was a psychic
06:26connection. I was like, oh my gosh, I know as a human, what it feels like to feel someone else's
06:34space and kind of like be in their energy. And sometimes it's a blessing. And honestly,
06:39sometimes it's a curse. It's like, you don't know what you're just kind of like, you don't know why
06:45you're so sensitive, you know? And so when I was reading that, it was interesting for me because
06:51I felt like, although I was on the Olivia side, I've, I also know what it's like to be on
06:59the
06:59limb side, maybe not to that extent, but my version of it, my human version of it.
07:05Anticipating their partner's needs.
07:07Yeah. And so that was fun. I think that's part of why I love doing this show is the,
07:12the magical parts of it with the, you know, with Manfred as a psychic and the psychic connection.
07:19And there's these parts in it that, um, I find fascinating. And like, I always say in my spare
07:24time, like I spent all my money on like healers and mediums. I like, that is like, that is the
07:29most fun thing for me. And, um, so that was also reading the scripts. I was like, Ooh, I get
07:36to, I,
07:36you know, a little bit of creep, a little bit of real life was, was creeping in there.
07:40Do you feel like, um, the Southwest has like kind of a unusual energy about it?
07:47Yeah.
07:47Midnight Texas kind of reminds me of Marfa, Texas.
07:50Have you been to New Mexico?
07:52Uh, I have not been to New Mexico, but I have been to Marfa and it's weird.
07:57It's a weird feeling.
07:58Let's get weird. That is Texas. Or that's Austin. That's Austin. Um, I've never been to Marfa, but
08:04I, before the show, I'd never been to New Mexico and I was looking forward to going because of that
08:10very reason. I was like, it's going to be so spiritual. And surprisingly, I had a really hard
08:15time when I first got there. Um, I find it to be a very rough environment. And when I mean
08:22that,
08:22I mean, it's like, it's powerful and it's raw. Like their thunder, you know, I grew up in Florida,
08:27so I'm used to lightning storms and hurricanes and whatever. And they're lightning storms. I've
08:33never seen anything like it. I mean, it is like straight from the sky down to the ground every
08:38single time and the wind blowing out of nowhere. And then all of a sudden it's hailing. And then
08:43it's, I mean, it's just, it is a powerful, powerful place. And so I feel like it is incredibly
08:50spiritual, but when not the spiritual people think of where it's like, I feel like it's
08:57like, it, it, it's, it just kind of like rips any shit out of you. I don't know how else
09:02to put it. It's just like, you know, it just like grounds you in the earth and in different
09:07way. And the skies feel so massive there because the land is so expansive and it's just like,
09:13it's, it's a, I don't quite know how to explain it, but it's definitely a special place.
09:19It's just different than I imagined. I imagined like, you know, soft and spas and whatever,
09:26and it's just like rugged and real. It's hardcore. Yeah. One of the other things that I found
09:34interesting about this new season is that your newcomers, the hotel owners, the, one of
09:41the characters is played by Nestor Carbonella. Yes. Isn't he great? He's fantastic, but he
09:47is a character. When you see him on a television show, you're like, oh, he's not what he seems.
09:52Well, it's those eyelashes. Yeah. He has the most amazing eyelashes. Right. Absolutely alluring.
09:59And then you're like, well, alluring means bad. Yeah, exactly. You can't be pretty and nice.
10:04It's against the rules. You just can't. Um, no, he, oh my gosh, what a talented actor. And
10:10Jamie Rae Newman as well. The two of them, they were a dynamic duo and they really just brought
10:16it to the show. And it's not easy to jump in season two of something, you know, and stand
10:21up against the Midnighters. And they did. And I can tell you, there's definitely a lot of
10:27plot twists, um, for both of them, for both of them. And we had incredible, we had great
10:33guest stars this season. We had Trace Lisette and Jasmine Jones, um, from Hamilton. So we were
10:40all geeking out. Um, Josh Kelly, who I worked with on Unreal. I mean, we just really like
10:47everyone that came on the show, I felt like elevated it and, and did their part. And it
10:53really made it fun to just like play. Yeah. It was awesome.
10:57Is it, is it unusual to have that level of kind of dimensions to characters on, on a television
11:03show? I, I mean, I love that you notice that because that I think as, as an artist and as
11:09this ensemble, I know that was so important to all of us, it's important to me. Um, and
11:13we were all talking about it right away, what these characters meant to us and, um, statements
11:18they were making. And, uh, you know, I, I bring that back to Monica, uh, Breen, our creator
11:24season one. Um, she, she really set the tone with that. And, you know, the fun thing about
11:32the Midnighters is they don't think they're diverse. They're normal to them and they embrace
11:38each other's differences as something that helps make the village whole, you know, cause
11:43they, they need everyone's talent for a different reason. And they come together and they, they
11:47unify that way. And, um, so I think the fact that there's not even the word diversity, it's
11:54just that that's life. And I think that's like the ultimate goal for us is that if you can
12:01take this supernatural show and find the themes in it and see that nobody is focusing on skin
12:11color or, um, you know, who they love, you know, love is love. And it's just, it's a
12:19very, um, it's like they have bigger problems and then those bigger problems are like life
12:25or death, literally, you know? And it's like, that's where they spend their energy. And I think
12:29that's a beautiful message. And I also have to really, uh, give it to our, and, and then,
12:36um, Eric and Nicole are season two producers and show runners. They, I feel like picked up
12:43what Monica started and just ran with it. And it was like, they, they kept what we had created
12:51season one authentic and real, and then built on that. And that's not easy to do as well.
12:57So I feel like we got so lucky, um, with, with both of them. But then for me, season two,
13:06a lot of horrific, horrific, um, shootings had happened between season one. You know,
13:13there'd been quite a break between season one and season two for us. And, um, uh, it,
13:19I was horrified and I really feel like as being on television once a week, we have a responsibility
13:26to inspire people. And we have a platform where we're fortunate enough to meet, to, to
13:34touch hundreds of thousands of people's lives and eyeballs. And so it was very important to me
13:40that we really, um, did not glamorize guns and that we, you know, so you'll see a lot more of
13:47like
13:48actual, like fighting, punching, kicking. I do a knife work, a butterfly knife. Um, I thought
13:56on two levels, the first is, you know, she's a tough woman. She can use her fists. Um, and number
14:04two,
14:04it's like, we're just so quick to grab a gun and that's it. There's nothing glamorous about that.
14:11And so that was really important to me. And Eric and Nicole, our showrunners were on the same page.
14:16And as was NBC, um, we made sure there was no guns on any of the, of the posters of
14:22the one sheets,
14:23anything. And, and that meant the world to me because I felt like, okay, I'm, I'm doing something
14:30that I believe in and the people that I'm working with, um, are, are, is they're supporting that.
14:37And so that, that kind of gave me like the sense of community off camera that we were building on
14:43camera. You're also very outspoken on Twitter. Uh, you've talked about the Me Too movement,
14:49Time's Up, uh, school shootings, and also, uh, encouraging people to go out and vote.
14:55Yeah. So what would you like to see happen in the next year? What are you hoping for?
15:00Gosh, that's a big question.
15:02As we close on in at the end of the year.
15:03Well, as of this moment today, vote, you know, because the midterm elections are coming up and
15:11I just did a big campaign with I'm a Voter. We're starting to release that shortly. And I was really
15:17proud to be a part of that campaign. And, you know, I just keep saying like, as everyone else is,
15:22um,
15:23this isn't about a political party. You know, this is about, um, human beings
15:29and human beings rights and educating yourself on who's running and understanding that I think
15:37it's like 36 or 32 out of the 50, um, senators will be elected this midterm. And it's like,
15:43I don't think people understand, you know, it's like, so if it's not the president, then why are
15:50we voting? And I mean, that's a big generalization, but what I'm trying to say is I don't think people
15:56until now have really understood the importance of a midterm election and that's okay. There's
16:01nothing wrong with that. But what is important is to educate yourself between now and November 6th.
16:11And I, so, um, and I mean, I just, when I've been speaking about it, I've been sharing, like,
16:17I will tell the day I die, I will remember the first time I voted and I was in California.
16:22I just
16:23moved here. I was filming American pie band camp and I made sure I could get off work in time
16:30to go
16:30vote. And I remember that was long before we still had Thomas guides then. Okay. That was long before
16:35Twitter and Instagram and all of that. And I remember I got the little sticker and I took a
16:41picture and I sent it, I think there was trios then, no iPhones. And I sent it to my, to
16:47my mom
16:47and my dad and I cried. I, cause I, I, I didn't understand how it would feel to know that
16:55my little
16:56voice was somewhere in America saying, here's what I believe in. And that that actually was going
17:02to the white house, to the people that make our decisions and run our country. And so I think
17:08sometimes it's like, it's so hard to hear all the political mummo jumbo, but if you really just
17:13break it down to the simple fact of like, oh my God, my little voice literally can, has a part
17:22in,
17:22in, in all of America if I make the choice to vote. Yeah. And you know, to just,
17:28just sit with that and, and feel that power. Um, and I think there's nothing like it. And we're
17:34fortunate that we live in a place where we can actually do that. So that would be what I'm pushing
17:40right this moment. If you ask me on after that, I'm sure it'll be something else. Right. Results of
17:46the midterm. Yeah. Well, that's a really exciting way to put, put voting. So you've got me jazzed.
17:54Oh, good. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. You can take your baby to the polls. Definitely taking my baby
18:00to the polls. Yeah. Um, can you, can you tell me a little bit about your upcoming project,
18:05Grand Hotel on ABC? Yeah. Uh, Grand Hotel, it's a remake of a Spanish show on Netflix and ABC's
18:13remaking it. And, uh, Eva Longoria is exec, uh, is our executive producer. She's also starring in it.
18:20She's such a bad-ass. That woman does not stop. She literally just had a baby, was directing the
18:24first episode, was in Telluride promoting her film, which I'm going to a screening of it tonight.
18:29Um, I mean, she's in Australia doing a movie. It's just like, talk about woman. Yeah. Wow. So I'm
18:38so excited to be working with her. We've known each other for years since the like Jesse Metcalf,
18:43John Tucker, desperate housewife days. Um, so it's fun to be come full circle with that. And, uh,
18:49it's a show about, um, a hotel, a family owned hotel and all the drama that goes on within the
18:57hotel. Right. And my character Sky actually goes missing in the pilot. And so her arc throughout
19:06the season is her brother Danny comes to the hotel, disguises himself as staff to try and find out what
19:13happened to her. Cause it's just like, she went missing and that was that. So it's a really fun
19:18arc because you see all these flashbacks and you know, he's starting to put it together and the
19:24audience is watching him start to put it together. But then of course he's getting close to these
19:29people and you know, there's struggles there. Can he trust them? Can he not? And, and all that jazz.
19:35So it's a great cast and, um, and it's fun. It's got, it's got humor. It's got, uh, like a
19:42kind of
19:43thriller feel to it. And, uh, I'm excited to be working on it. And I worked with Ben Spector,
19:47the other producer on John Tucker must die. So it's lots of like, you know, yeah, small world.
19:53Now, uh, last question to you before I let you go and thank you so much for being here.
19:57Yeah. Um, the, uh, you're, you go to comic cons because you're on a supernatural show.
20:03So what's the most surprising thing that you've learned from having such close interaction with
20:08your fans?
20:09I'm just constantly wowed by their passion. And, and I've said this over and over again,
20:17but I truly mean it. We would not have a season two Midnight Texas if it weren't for the fans.
20:22Um, we had such, they were so passionate and supportive, uh, during season one. Uh, and then
20:29there was this long break between season one and season two and they were right there with
20:34us the entire time on Twitter and Instagram and social media and wondering what was happening
20:39and can't wait to start back. And, and it just blew me away because it made me feel like
20:44I have a responsibility to, to give back to these people that have supported us so passionately.
20:52And so I'm just, I think I'm just constantly in awe that, um, that, that they like us.
21:01It's like high school. I'm like, do you like me? Really? Okay. Cool. Thanks. Want me to sign? No. Okay.
21:08Bye.
21:10Um, yeah, it really, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's actually very overwhelming. It's, um, it's a lot to
21:15take in, but I'm, I'm very grateful and humbled by it all. It, Comic-Con never ceases to amaze me.
21:22I'm, I feel like I always leave like this. I'm like, wow. And the costumes, you know.
21:27Ariel, thank you so much for being here. The show is Midnight Texas on NBC.
21:31Thank you. Thanks for having me. Thank you.
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