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Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman Reveal Drama "Underneath the Surface" of Horror Series Teacup
The horror in Peacock's Teacup goes deeper than your usual spooky fare.
So much of Peacock's sci-fi horror series Teacup remains under wraps because the mystery and twists are so intense from the very beginning. When SYFY WIRE attended a set visit alongside other reporters in Atlanta, Georgia, we spoke with primary cast members Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman, and Chaske Spencer — and even they had trouble dodging spoilers. They didn't want to ruin the surprises. But they still had plenty to tease about what's to come.
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From what we know of the series thus far after its ten-episode premiere on Peacock, Teacup follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. One of those people is Maggie Chenoweth, a mother and veterinarian caught at the center of a living nightmare, played by Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid's Tale, The Predator).
"We move really fast here. We shoot fast and furious," Strahovski said. "[The emotion at the center is] what really makes this show given that it’s a genre piece — it’s the way in for the audience to relate to the characters. It’s a family. It’s a few families on this farm and the familes have their own issues and, specifically, my character Maggie with [Scott] Speedman's character ..."
They're having issues, to put it lightly.
More than just a sci-fi mystery
Scott Speedman (Underworld, Grey's Anatomy) plays Maggie's husband, James Chenoweth, a schoolteacher who Speedman described as "a good man, a good dad" to his two kids who we're so happening to meet in the midst of a crisis. In fact, we're meeting him at arguably the worst point of his life, Speedman said.
Their interpersonal issues, Strahovski teased, "creates a ... very, very tense backdrop already for what’s to come as we go through each episode and find out that there is something else going on ... that they’re trying to get to the bottom of because it’s a mystery to them.
"And that will be part of the draw, I think, for people watching it," she continued. "It’s kind of one of those thrilling sometimes slow-burn-thrilling but sometimes fast-paced-thrilling journey that we’ll go on for [all] the episodes."
That burn begins from the get-go in Episode 1, when a family secret comes to light.
"We’re presenting it Episode 1, which is challenging to do … that the patriarch is unlikable," Speedman said of his character. "We’re setting up this unwinnable fight and that made me go, 'OK!' Knowing [showrunner] Ian [McCulloch], this must be a story of redemption. This must be where we’re starting to come all the way full circle hopefully. And, yeah, that’s remained to be true."
It's not just the Chenoweth family undergoing this mystery, though. Their neighbors the Shanleys also get caught up in the drama. Chaske Spencer (The Twilight Saga, Echo) plays Ruben Shanley and also teased not just drama within the family units but between the families as well.
"Ruben knows James and Maggie just [by way of] the community, but he doesn’t really know them know them," he said. "And I think this is where we’re getting to know each other real fast because of the circumstances we’re in."
Spencer's character is described as "stoic," but the actor did everything he could to get into the character's headspace. That included making a custom playlist that included songs from The Kentucky Headhunters, Wailin' Jennys, and, he joked, Bryan Adams. "[He's] a secret Bryan Adams fan," he said, laughing.
"We don’t want the audience to know what he’s thinking, and that to me is a huge challenge because ... by nature I’m a pretty animated guy, but this character, he keeps everything in," Spencer said. "So I always have to check in with Ian and the directors if I’m giving too much or less or — sometimes those scenes, I don’t feel like I’m doing anything and the camera picks it up.
"I don’t ever underestimate the audience," Spencer added. "The audience is very smart. And they’re gonna see it and feel that and stuff."
But there is action to come ...
As audiences can see from the trailer, though, there is plenty of action, violence, and horror on the way. What starts out as a pleasant family farmhouse soon becomes a site for unknown terror. That's the kind of story that needs a hero. Are any of these characters up to the task?
As the only medical professional on the property, Maggie is used to keeping a cool head.
"She’s trained to be in control," Strahovski said.
Ruben's stoicism seems like a no-brainer for someone who'd be willing to step up, but is that the case ...?
As for James: "[He’s heroic] in his way," Speedman said of his character. "He would never do the very cliché heroic thing. It’s subtle but in that, that’s my taste too — it’s the most felt."
He went on to explain that his character, like all the others, finds himself changing to meet the moment of this mystery. And with that change, we might have a hero or two.
"When you do pick up the gun, theoretically, it has more of an impact," he said.
The first two episodes of Teacup premiered Thursday, October 10, on Peacock. Two new episodes will drop every Thursday through Halloween.
