OnAmerican Gothic, nothing is what it seems.
They have all this great I.P.
It reminded me of a case in Kansas where I grew up, which has always stuck with me.
Credit: Christos Kalohoridis/CBS
What happens to that family?
In that case, they knew definitively who it was and what had happened.
It really became a very character-driven show more than plot.
Christos Kalohoridis/CBS
Even though its a murder mystery, its really very much around these characters in this family.
In episode 2 and beyond, you see a healthy dose of dark humor in the show as well.
What can you tell us about the Hawthorne family?
Claire Folger/CBS
Youve got Jamey Sheridan as Mitchell.
I guess its a spoiler that hes not with us long.
[Laughs] Hes the quintessential loving family man and patriarch, deeply devoted to his family as well.
Weve got Garrett (Starr), our woodsman.
Hes quite an enigmatic figure, who mysteriously left Boston 14 years ago under very strange circumstances.
Nobody quite knows why he vanished and nobody quite knows why hes come back.
We have a lot of fun with him.
Hes cryptic and taciturn and theres quite a bit going on under the surface with him.
Thats about as vague as I can be there.
Shes a public school teacher.
Shes a public school teacher married to a cop (Elliot Knight), who is now a detective.
Shes chosen a more humble lifestyle.
Shes secretly everyones favorite.
Shes the glue that holds everyone in the family together.
Very complicated people in a complicated relationship.
Part of the addiction is to each other.
Thats a relationship that is very complex and has been interesting to unpack for us.
He has an incredible sense of humor and is a big source of the comedy in the show.
[Laughs] Hes different.
Theres a line later where Cam says, Hes demented, hes creative, hes different.
Its a matter of interpretation what Jack is and who he is.
Certainly, one thing were exploring in this show is the idea of nature versus nurture.
Theres a gene called MAOA, also known colloquially as the psychopath gene.
Theres some scientific debate about how legitimate it is.
Jack exists to tell us if that gene is real.
Hes the living embodiment of it; hes the living proof.
Hes got the genetic makeup for something dark.
How do you think being in the public eye has affected this family?
Their public image is of paramount importance to Alison, who is running a campaign.
This is the absolute worst PR you might imagine.
Theres really nobody who gets off scot free with this mystery looming.
What are the most important aspects in setting the tone for a creepy show?
For all of these characters, there is some level of duplicity, which is necessary.
Each one of them has a pretty major secret or demon, as it were, to grapple with.
Complicated characters, I guess, would be No.
- for have a truly creepy show, you cant ever really know who anybody is at face value.
Theres so much we did in this show as far as, where do they live?
What does their actual space look like?
What is the color palette?
We had a lot of fun with that.
Also, constant misleads.
How does the title of the show play into the series?
The name of the show, of course, is the name of an iconic American painting.
It all has to do with fine art as a theme of the show.
The Hawthorne family home is filled with it, and Cams comic strip plays a role in the story.
Each episode is titled after a famous American painting.
At the very end, the frame of Madeline is the recreation of Arrangement in Grey and Black.
We do that throughout.
In episode 2, its called Jack in the Pulpit, after the Georgia OKeeffe painting.
We see our little Jack go to the pulpit of his grandfathers funeral.
We also have a super close-up of a flower that resembles the one in the painting.
Its just one of our motifs that we use in each episode the title and then the homage.
American Gothicpremieres Wednesday at 10 p.m.
Check out a sneak peek:
