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'Resident Alien': Alice Wetterlund's goal on set is to get one good laugh out of showrunner Chris Sheridan
It's a very good day on set if you can get a chuckle out of Chris Sheridan.
It's a good day on the set of SYFY's Resident Alien if you can get a hearty laugh out of showrunner/executive producer Chris Sheridan.
"He says he makes television so that people who work on the television [show] enjoy it. That's what he wants," cast member Alice Wetterlund (D'Arcy Bloom) said during a chat with SYFY WIRE's Jackie Jennings and Juan Cadavid (co-hosts of the official Resident Alien After-Show). "He wants the people working to enjoy themselves as much as possible. And he creates this kind of environment of super high morale ... I feel so free to be me on this show. I feel the most seen that I've ever felt on this show as a performer."
In terms of off-the-cuff improvisation, the cast is asked to perform the scripts as they were written before they try out alternate takes. "I'm thinking of the line in [Episode] 203 when I walk out [of the bar with Asta]," Wetterlund recalled. "We had a bunch of different 'alts' when I walk out of the bar and things that we say to Mayor Ben about his newly-discovered record of being a kinky b****. But I always get one in there that they just definitely can't use just to make Chris laugh."
Speaking with SYFY WIRE ahead of Season 1, Corey Reynolds (Sheriff Mike) explained that a lot of the improv moments stem from Alan Tudyk's unpredictable performance as Harry Vanderspeigle.
"I think Alan keeps you on your toes," Reynolds said. "All of us excel at improv and he’s very, very, very good at it as well, so you always have to be present in the moment because you never know when he’s going to give you something new to play with. Once you have this new thing to play with, it becomes your job to play with it and give it back to him. A lot of our show is rooted in that improv back and forth, which I think benefits the show."
The first half (eight episodes) of Resident Alien Season 2 is now streaming on the SYFY app and Peacock. Be sure to check back in with SYFY WIRE every week for more bonus content that takes us behind the show's sophomore outing!
New episodes of Resident Alien Season 2 are set to land this summer on SYFY.