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Superman & Lois: Director Tom Cavanagh Previews The Finale

Interview with director Tom Cavanagh about the Superman & Lois season finale “Last Sons of Krypton”

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When someone brings up the name “Tom Cavanagh,” many may think of his fantastic work on such TV series as The Flash, where he starred as multiple incarnations of Harrison Wells. Some of us are old enough to remember what a great show Ed was, or his guest roles on such series as Scrubs and Jack & Bobby, or they saw his Tom and Grant short film collaboration with Grant Gustin.

Super-fans might also know of one of his other talents: Directing. Cavanagh was tasked with helming three episodes of The Flash, including the show’s milestone 100th episode in 2018. This year, he was chosen to direct the first season finale of Superman & Lois (airing tonight 8/17 on The CW) — and again, he certainly delivered.

KryptonSite’s Craig Byrne was able to interview Tom Cavanagh about the season finale and what it was like to enter the world of another Arrowverse show, as well as handling a finale that would be satisfying to the audience. From the start, Cavanagh heaped a lot of praise on the Superman & Lois team for what they were able to do together.

“They have a spectacular team,” he said. “I’ve done this for a while, and you never quite know what you’re going to get. And it’s a very strange position: Unlike when you direct a movie, where it’s your vision, when you direct a television show, it’s a very funny thing: You’re in charge, but only for two weeks, and then the next woman or man is in charge, but only for two weeks.”

While sometimes being new to a show might be a conflict, Cavanagh credits the “spectacular group” at Superman & Lois for making it work. “It felt like their sole purpose, which was identical to mine, was to tell as best of a story as we could, so everything was on the table, and we were all fighting towards the best presentation of the story that we had. It was an incredible pleasure to work with a group that was down to Earth, charismatic, funny, hard, working, talented, just as many accolades as I could throw out there…. they personified them,” he said.

“Everybody is invested in making it look like a big screen show. From my time over there, I was amazed at how much of a priority that was, and how welcoming they were to ideas that I would have about, like, having the the amber fields of grain waving the golden light, with people small in the distance. Nobody was like, ‘no, we’ve got to get closer to them.’ They were like, “no, that’s a great tableau and a great image. Let’s do that!’ Frankly, it was invigorating,” he recalled. Technology has also been a bonus for filming a show like Superman & Lois. “I’ve been overjoyed at what we can do with those advances,” Cavanagh said, adding that things that would have been prohibitively expensive when he was directing at the turn of the century can be created much more easily now.

But, of course, the finale had certain expectations that had to be hit, and Cavanagh was aware of the high standards that were required to meet. “The tricky thing directing this, as with The Flash’s 100th episode, is that you want to honor the things that had come before, and also tell a story that if you are stepping in, and for some reason you aren’t up to date, you will still get something from the story. You will be able to follow the story and understand the stakes. With The Flash, we were like, ‘well, what if the Flash has to go back in time and revisit some great moments to gain tools to defeat this bad person who’s threatening his livelihood and central city’s livelihood in the present?’ It was a way of simplifying the story and also honoring the things that have come before. On Superman & Lois, they’ve met, they’ve had a Genesis story, they’ve had children. All four of the main characters have been on these plethora of adventures, and it’s been exciting to watch. What’s nice is that the finale – without spoilers, it does not feel like suddenly we’re reaching out to cap off this storyline, and that storyline, and that storyline, and in 17 different ways your head’s being turned as a viewer. It’s not that at all. It’s one simple, geniusly simple story, where the family suddenly has the greatest threat that they’ve ever faced, and they have to overcome that in the entire 60 minutes. Everybody has to participate in their own way. It’s extremely satisfying that as a director on the finale, you didn’t feel like you were picking up other pieces that had been strewn across the main street of Smallville throughout the first 14 episodes. I felt like right now, we’ve gotten to the climax of the story, and we’re telling that, and everybody’s invested.”

For Cavanagh, this investment meant being sure to satisfy in two major categories: “heart” and “moments.” The desire for those two things elicits memories of The Flash‘s Season 1 finale. “I’ve been a part of finales where they’ve whiffed, and I’ve been a part of the Season 1 finale on The Flash where it was really satisfying. We stripped it down and pared it down to ‘Flash versus his nemesis.’ We built up a full season, and then at the season finale, we fought,with all the emotions that have been pent up to 21, 22 episodes, and that catharsis was right there for the viewers, that you built up to the way like you would do over the course of 120-minute movie, where it’s like, here’s your last 15 minute sequence, and we’re going for it. It’s extremely satisfying to an actor when it’s used so closely to the story that you’re trying to tell, and it’s not always possible when you’re trying to add up and make sure that everybody gets satisfied.”

For Superman & Lois, it’s a different type of challenge. “The Superman & Lois finale comes down to a make or break question for the family. It’s almost like if you put somebody on an island, and [tell them that] here are the threats: ‘Will you survive?’ When you pare it down and make it simple like that, that makes a really, really good television. That’s the heart of it. And then the moments, that’s something that I feel like, as a director, I can I can offer to actors, because I’m an actor, and my experience has been largely that you give an actor a moment, and that will be incredibly satisfying for the actor,” he explained.

“The actors out there know what I’m talking about. Actors have reels, which contain those moments that are under a minute, and often times, a matter of seconds,” Cavanagh illustrated. “On this show, I fought really hard to give each of the characters, not just the leads, but all of the people you’ve come to know on this show a moment as an actor that I felt would be gratifying there.” As an example, there’s a scene in the finale with Erik Valdez where Kyle looks banged up, and after Cavanagh yelled “cut,” Erik exclaimed “That’s going on my reel!”

“The people who watch the show will recognize it right away,” Cavanagh continued, “but it’s not just him. There are also some near the tail end of the show, for the family, there are some for the kids…. there are a lot of moments that I think an actor could ball up and put on a reel.” So, when you watch tonight, keep an eye out for the “heart” and the “moments.”

As for directing more superhero magic, is there more coming from Tom Cavanagh in the upcoming TV season, “The powers that be at Warners, and The CW, and HBO Max have made a lot of offers, and it’s just a matter of whether the two schedules can meet in the middle somewhere. That’s something we’re working on right now,” he said. And might we see Cavanagh back as Eobard Thawne or Harrison Wells before The Flash series makes it to the finish line?

“This is my fourth show now with Greg [Berlanti]… gosh, darn, that dates both of us,” he said without giving a direct “yes” or “no.” “We’ve always liked working together, and our understanding has always been that people want to see Batman go up against the Joker ultimately, and Superman at some point has got to reckon with Lex Luthor and Zod, the Flash has to have his come-to moments with Reverse-Flash. There’s no doubt. I know how that’s how Grant Gustin feels, and that’s how Greg feels, and that’s how I feel. So, to me, I feel like you’d be cheating if you didn’t bring the arch-enemies together to try and gain some level of conclusion there. Interpret that answer how you will, Craig,” he teased.

But, this week, Cavanagh’s focus is on Superman & Lois. “There are not many stories that have been told generation after generation, and Superman is one of those rare properties that gets passed down from mothers and fathers to sons and daughters, and so on and so on, and there are reiterations and re-interpretations for each generation,” Tom said. “What’s interesting about what Greg Berlanti and Todd Helbing and Warner Brothers have done with this take is that instead of trying to amp it up even more in the age of digital and technology, they’ve pared it down to the heart of it, which I think is extremely smart. Their way of talking about it is ‘what would a family be like if one of the heads of the family was Lois Lane, and the other head of the family was Superman? These two iconic characters.’ It’s a very smart move.”

The Superman & Lois season finale airs TONIGHT (August 17) on The CW.

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Interviews

Superman & Lois: Full Interview with Inde Navarrette (Sarah)

Full interview with Inde Navarrette who plays Sarah Cortez on Superman & Lois

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Last week, we ran some preview questions for “Collision Course” with actress Inde Navarrette who plays Sarah Cortez. As a new episode airs tonight (June 6), it felt right to share our full interview with Inde. We’re starting with relationship talk since that’s where the previous piece seemed to leave off. Be aware some minor spoilers may be discussed within.

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: Sarah’s preference for herself with Jordan would be for them to just be good friends, right? 

INDE NAVARRETTE: For me as a viewer, I would love to see that friendship. You know what I mean? It’s definitely something that was there in the beginning, and then they went straight into a relationship. I think it’s important to see them as friends and good friends and being there for each other.

Was it fun to film that scene at the party in Metropolis earlier that the season where the two of them were working together as friends? 

Absolutely. Are you kidding me? Throwing a beer and saying ‘here’s your beer, bitch,’ and then going back and forth… that was one of the best days to film. Me and Alex had the time of our lives. I’m definitely wanting to do that again.

Am I imagining things and seeing some chemistry between Jonathan and Sarah? 

You shut your mouth! You be quiet! What are you saying that for? What’s wrong with you? Sarah would never do that!

Yeah, it’s funny… me and Michael have definitely picked up on that. And we’re like, what is this? What is this? It’s definitely a question. I don’t know where it’s gonna go, but it’s definitely a question.

I love this Sarah and Jonathan combination. In Seasons 1 and 2, Jonathan and Sarah definitely had a relationship that was so chemistry-filled, I think, and it’s so specific to the characters. Michael [Bishop] did such a good job coming in, and picking up on that, and doing it in his own way. And it seems so beautiful, to where it still is there. You know what I mean? It’s something that’s been there since day one that we still carry. I think it’s definitely something, for sure. As Inde, I’m  screaming at them like “don’t do the brothers trope!” But then me as somebody who reads books, I’m like “maybe do the brother trope.”

Do you as a cast have theories on where Sophie disappears to when she’s not in an episode?

That is the biggest joke on set! We’re like “she’s in Guatemala!” We have this joke where she’s the villain and she’s secretly the mastermind behind everything, because she’s so angry at her family. We’ll joke around about the fact that it’s actually Bizarro Sophie. We don’t ever stop talking about it. And the fact that they even wrote it into the script… when we got that script [where Sophie was missing], I thought I was gonna die laughing, because it was a joke that we made on set, and the fact that it’s actually in the script…. you can only see so many comments before you go “yeah, we should definitely address that. Where is she?”

Didn’t you do an interview at one point where you just went “Who’s Sophie?” or did I imagine that? 

Yeah, that definitely happened. We talked about siblings, [and I was] like “I have a sister?”

Is there anything about Sarah that you wish the show had handled differently?

I think Season 1 a very big tell of who Sarah is. In Season 1, she’s extremely reserved, and really wanting to understand where everyone’s coming from. She’s still an angry child because of everything that she’s going through with her family and friends and everything, so there’s this understanding and connection between her and Jordan, because they have that understanding of feeling lost in a family and not knowing what to do, or having mental health issues. I think over the years, she’s kind of projected onto Jordan instead of taking care of her own things. I definitely love her arc this season, because she’s coming back to herself in the manner of who she was before, rather than solely focusing on on Jordan. I would say that we’re definitely getting there, for sure.

My personal head-canon is that Sarah is the coolest teenager in all of Smallville… so how did she not know who The Cure are?

I brought that up so many times! That is not a me question. That is a writer question. Call them, because I don’t know. Also, whenever they were talking about Alanis Morissette…. Are you kidding me? She doesn’t know who that is? Anyway…

Is there a particular storyline that you would like to see in the future for Sarah?

I would love to see her with the boys and Nat, and helping out…. maybe be the getaway driver.

She’s done a lot with her family. She’s done a lot with her parents. I would love to see her with the kids more, not being the emotional teenager or a kid.

There’s a scene, I think it’s in episode five, when they go to get Jon’s truck back… I remember watching the stunts and I remember watching it being performed and I just sat there like, “I so badly wish that Sarah was a part of this, because I think that she would be able to heighten that.” I think maybe that’s why her and Jonathan have such chemistry, because they’re the two in their families where they know that they’re capable of doing everything that they can, but the people around them kind of have a one up. Nat has her suit, and Jordan has his powers, but me and Jonathan can throw a punch. We can throw beer in people’s faces and can take care of something. I can be the getaway driver!

Do you think anybody’s going to let her be the getaway driver after last week’s episode, though?

That’s a good question. I would say her driving was phenomenal. It just was extracurricular activities that caused issues!

Earlier this season, you had a very charged scene with Emmanuelle [Chriqui] as Lana… you know which one I’m talking about. Was that hard to prepare for, working with somebody who’s your friend and getting in her face, and then her character slaps you?

That day was definitely something. Emmanuelle and I have such a good relationship. I just remember that time being so at peace with myself, and then we have to go film this scene. There’s a moment where I, as Inde, a 22 year old actress, have to really remove myself from Sarah because the things that Sarah says, as a teenager… my heart breaks. I hate those words, I hate them coming out of my mouth, and I hate saying them to Emmanuelle. That is, I would say, the most difficult part about being Sarah, saying those things. I, as an actor, have to make it to where I understand why she’s saying those things, so I could play it honestly, and during that day where I say stuff like “that’s why Dad cheated on you” I think the only way that could be is because she’s frustrated with everything that’s going on, and she’s trying to say everything that comes out. It doesn’t mean she’s saying it with anger, but sometimes you’ll say things when you genuinely don’t mean it, you’re just saying it, but it causes a reaction in the other person.

So to play it that way, and then to have Emmanuelle’s reaction, it was really tough. I let her actually slap me five or six times. Greg, the director was like, “okay, we’re not gonna do it on this one… we’re gonna do on this one…” There’s one time where Emmanuelle did it, and I was like “you’ve got to slap me harder. I love you, but you’ve got to slap me harder.” Then another time she fully clapped my ear, and as I was walking away, I was like, “I hear a symphony. There are bells ringing in my brain!” I didn’t say anything, because they would have been like “you’re done” and I was like, “no, we’ve got to get this.” Watch now me talking about it, they’re going to be like “you don’t do your own stuff anymore.”

We will see more friendship between Sarah and Nat?

I think so.

How good do you feel about the possibility of still getting a fourth season?

We’re really looking forward to it. We haven’t heard anything back. If I get to work with them again, I’m happy. We all keep in touch, and it was such a beautiful set to be on. So hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. If not, I had a phenomenal time.

How excited were you when you heard the show was going to be getting Michael Cudlitz as Lex Luthor?

It’s been a lifelong joke between me and Todd Helbing, the showrunner, about shaving my head. I’ll joke like “Sarah’s gonna shave her head in this episode!”

It’s a lifelong dream of mine to shave my head, and not only to do that, but to do it for something that I love, like my job. So I get on set, and I [met him], and I said, “what did you do today?” And he was like, “Well, you know, we did the scene where we shaved his head.” And… I couldn’t stop it from coming out of my mouth… I was like, “you m$#%$^$&#$%@$.” It was the first time I ever met him, so I think we got off to a really good start of getting to really know each other. It was amazing.

Do you think she could be his bald minion?

I hope so! Sarah needs to just be taken under his wing, and fully become his protege.

Regardless of if there’s a fourth season or not, are there certain friendships and relationships that you will take with you?

Everybody. This entire set… it’s one of those things where it’s so specific. We went through something like COVID together. We became a family. We got to know each other, snd it’s such a beautiful thing to be able to experience. I’m really close with Erik who plays my dad, and I’m close with his family. I’m really close to Emmanuelle and Wolé and Sofia and Tayler and Michael and Alex… it was such a beautiful experience, and I’ll hold it very near and dear to my heart.

Superman & Lois has a new episode titled “Complications” airing TONIGHT at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.

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Superman & Lois: Inde Navarrette on Tonight’s “Collision Course”

Inde Navarrette offers some previews of the May 30 episode of Superman & Lois titled “Collision Course”

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Sarah Cortez gets herself into some trouble in tonight’s episode of Superman & Lois… and when we asked the actress who plays her, Inde Navarrette, about this when we spoke to her this afternoon, she asked us “When does Sarah not get in trouble?”

Without going into specifics as to what happens in the May 30 episode, Inde tells us that it’s an “important learning lesson” for Sarah to realize that “everything is fun, until it’s not.”

“Even if you don’t think that something is as serious as it is, it is serious. Growing up, you learn that your actions have consequences. That’s really important for people to learn, especially Sarah,” she says.

And going into tonight’s episode, we also asked how much, on a scale of 1 to 10, Jordan (Alex Garfin) has been on Sarah’s nerves.

“I would say that it’s a solid 7, maybe 8 and a half,” Inde says about the lovesick teen character. “She’s really trying to work with him, and I think that tonight you’re going to see them come at a crossroads, and either figure out how it works, or go completely the opposite direction. But we definitely see a new dynamic of their relationship,” she teases.

Superman & Lois “Collision Course” airs tonight (May 30) on The CW.

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Superman & Lois Interview: Talking to Wolé Parks Before “The Dress”

Interview with actor Wolé Parks about Season 3 of The CW television series Superman & Lois

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Tonight’s (May 23) episode of Superman & Lois is called “The Dress” and it is an emotion-filled hour with great moments for many of the show’s characters. One of those characters is John Henry Irons as played by Wolé Parks. We spoke with the actor earlier today in anticipation of tonight’s big episode, especially about issues involving John Henry and the father of his daughter Nat’s new boyfriend Matteo. You can read the interview below, and you can look forward to more from Wolé on KryptonSite in the near future!

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: Considering John Henry himself has lost his wife, does he have any sympathy at all for Bruno Mannheim, especially knowing Pia’s situation?

WOLÉ PARKS: I think he would have more sympathy if we didn’t have Bruno try to kill him at the end of episode 8. [Laughs] That’s the whole thing! That’s the interesting thing, to me, about this season and the way it’s going. I think the writers have done a brilliant job of making Bruno and Pia sympathetic in some ways, so people understand them. But with John, he’s like, “hey, guys, you remember this guy? You know what he did? He killed me in this world. And remember how he strapped a bomb to my sister? Yeah, that’s still him.” I understand he’s going through a rough time. Clark and Lois are going through rough time, but we don’t see them killing people. That’s the interesting thing about what’s going on with John, and how he perceives everything.

Did John know Bruno at all in his own world?

That’s a great question. I think not. It’s never answered, but I don’t think so, because I think he dealt with Lex Luthor, and in that world, Lex Luthor was still in power. Therefore, that means Bruno Mannheim didn’t take him out, so, I don’t think they interacted.

Speaking of that other world, how is John Henry process processing Lois’ cancer knowing that she could die, just like her counterpart had?

I think that was really hard for him. That was the whole idea of the episode with the watch and seeing John Henry dealing with it with Natalie. I think John as a person, maybe because he’s a former soldier, he’s one of those people who “acts now, feels later.” I don’t think he’s the best at processing emotions, and with Lois, it’s interesting, because this is not something you can fight. It’s interesting because you also see Clark deal with this, as well. This is not something that Superman can save her from.

So, the people in Lois’ life have to figure out how they can process, and realize they’re kind of powerless to help in this situation, and for someone like John Henry… he’s a selfless person, he always wants to be able to help, and he can’t. I think it’s taken him a while to learn and to come to accept that.

Cn you talk about having a scene partner as great as Tayler Buck?

Oh, I love me some Tayler. Tayler can do no wrong. She’s so fun. She’s cast so perfectly. I love that she brings such a strength to that character, and self-awareness that I 100% believe that [John and Nat] are related. It’s great, because she doesn’t cower to him. I love that she’s so strong in her point of view. It’s great.

Now that he knows who Matteo’s father is, is John going to be even more protective?

100%. Anything that Bruno touches is radioactive, so therefore, that includes his kids. For John, it’s like “I get you’re in love. I get you feel like you’re happy. You’re 16. You’ll grow out of it. I’m trying to keep you alive.

Can you talk about what it’s like to work with Chad Coleman as Bruno?

Chad’s the man. Chad and I play around all day long. Chad’s crazy, but in a good away. I’m crazy too, so that’s the fun of it.

I love an actor who’s willing to take risks. You know, you come up with an idea, but then you play ping pong with each other, and a scene goes in a completely different way. I only wish that people could see the multiple different versions that we have of the scenes we take together. It’s really all over the place because we get to play. I love that kind of acting. It was so much fun. And for me, that flip of seeing the version of Bruno in the restaurant, and everything’s happy, then is like “is this John Henry? I’ve gotta kill you!” He turns that quickly, and I love it.

Can you talk about working with Emmanuelle Chriqui so much recently?

It’s so cool. I just love Em. She’s so sweet, and I think that comes out through the character. Em’s just a joy; one of the most pleasant and also emotionally available people I’ve ever met. She’s just a genuinely good and kind, giving person, and it’s fun to see that, because I feel like Lana is bringing out a little bit of that lighter side of John. It just that he has to juggle that with the whole “oh, this guy’s trying to kill me” thing. It’s an interesting juggle.

Would you say that John and Clark are on very opposite sides of the Mannheim issue?

100%. I think they both personalize it, but in different ways. I think Clark has personalized it because he’s seen the cancer struggle up close. He’s seen Lois’ bond with Pia, which has clouded Clark’s judgment. But for John, he’s on the other end, where he’s like, “guys, this guy’s a killer. He strapped a bomb to my sister! He beat me up and was about to shoot me in his restaurant!” I’ll say this: I think they’re both doing the best they can; they just have different experiences with Bruno that are clouding their judgment.

Come back soon for more of our interview with Wolé Parks! Keep up with @SupermanLoisTV on Twitter for updates on when we will be posting more. “The Dress” airs May 23 on The CW.

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