Co-showrunner Miles Orion Feldsott doesn’t want Syfy’s ‘Deadly Class‘ to just include “edgy” violence in the upcoming series but explore “the consequences” of it. The idea of the youth enrolled in the ‘Deadly Class’ being violent is central to the themes and plot of the comic so it isn’t something which can be avoided on the show. So, the series will embrace violence but try not to glorify it as well as show how the students deal with the rest of their lives.
As to why the showrunners are dealing with violence in this way, Feldsott explains:
“I think there’s two ways to look at art, and it’s certainly a question there Rick, and I ask ourselves not only when we put violence in this project but in … if we put homophobia or racism or sexism or any kind of ugliness of the world. When we put it into a project, you have to ask yourself, why is it there? I think it’s there to hold up a lens, a mirror, to society. And there’s certainly the other way to go, which is more aspirational art. But there are dark things in our society that we want to examine through art, and I don’t think we’re really interested, necessarily, in, “Oh, violence is cool, and it’s edgy.” It’s more about, what are the consequences of that?”
While the pilot episode, which you can currently stream online, doesn’t try to glorify violence, it also doesn’t deal with the consequences of it. However, we won’t have to wait long until the show dives head first as to what happens:
“If you watch the pilot, I don’t think we’re ever glorifying violence. If you watch the second episode, it’s all about, what’s the aftermath of that? What are these kids dealing with on a day-to-day basis? The way that we look at the school is really a metaphor for all of the institutions and systems and the relationship dynamics that push basically good kids towards a darker side or towards an ugliness in the world. “
One focus that the pair also has in mind is to make audiences understand that what we’re seeing in the show isn’t our Earth:
“I think as artists now, it’s just we have to always be aware of what … Why are we doing this? What are we saying about the world? And be responsible about it. And in that way, we make sure that we heighten the world, that there’s no guns in school … There’s none of that. We make sure that the world feels very heightened and different from ours, and in that way, we can explore these themes without making people feel too uncomfortable about the current state of the world.”
I’m curious as to how this will all play out on screen as the show moves forward. We won’t really see too much of this until the second episode officially drops as that is the one which will be taking a look at how the characters live in this violent world which we are being introduced to.
Are you looking forward to watching ‘Deadly Class’? How do you think the characters will end up dealing with the aftermath of the violence which they must commit and experience? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
You can officially enroll in ‘Deadly Class’ on SYFY on January 16th, 2019 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Source: Screen Rant
