CHASING LIFE PREVIEW: WHAT’S seterusnya FOR APRIL AND LEO? 

Chasing Life really had us holding our collective breaths here at The TV Junkies. Prior to the drama’s Season 1B premiere, the life of one of our favourite TV characters hung in the balance. Thankfully Leo (Scott Michael Foster) survived brain surgery–and a two-month coma–to awaken by episode’s end and all was right in our television universe.

Now that Leo is awake will he and April be able to pick up where they left off? It can’t be that easy, can it? Also, what about April’s ex-boyfriend Dominic whom we last saw staring daggers at her throughout the premiere? Will he eventually come around and soften towards April?

For the answers to all these questions and more The TV Junkies spoke with executive producer Patrick Sean Smith about what’s to come in Chasing Life’s Season 1B.

The TV Junkies: We want to start things off by saying thank you for not killing Leo.

Patrick Sean Smith: We shot the first three episodes of this cycle in 2013. It was something that we went to the network about after the 1A finale and had a lot of discussions. We had a pitch for Leo living. We had a pitch for Leo dying. There was a lot of discussion that went into it. Italia [Ricci] and I were even joking about how we’re so grateful that we can finally talk about it and not talk around it. We did our best to keep it as surprising and secret as we possibly could for our little show.

TTJ: Mission accomplished because you had us very worried! Scott was getting other roles, so why not kill him? We were holding our breath.

PSS: He’s a very busy young man, as he should be. It was a big question of how we can make it all work. It’s a testament of his commitment to the show and how much he loves it. He was also, at the time we were shooting these episodes, he was doing an arc on Halt and Catch Fire and he got snowed in for one day of production in Atlanta. We were like, ‘Uh oh, this is worst-case scenario, we have to rewrite stuff and move stuff around.’ But he’s worth it and we’re so glad to finally share these next 10 episodes with you guys.

TTJ: Leo is thankfully out of his coma and talking again, but the preview indicated it wouldn’t be smooth sailing. What complications will he have and how will they affect his relationship with April?

PSS: We wanted to be as authentic as possible and any time a coma comes up in a writers’ room people just cringe because it’s such a device that can be used a million times, and not in a way that feels really effective of somebody actually coming out of a coma. We did our research, and Scott did as well. It’s brain surgery. When people say ‘it’s brain surgery,’ meaning something’s hard it’s because it’s brain surgery! He really is suffering the physical repercussions of the surgery. The tumor is gone but touching any part of your brain can lead to complications. The biggest thing for Leo in this 10 is he focused so much on his death in 1A and now that that’s changed it kind of creates this existential crisis for him: ‘I was living my life a certain way in anticipation of my death, and now that the tumor is gone and my prognosis is good, what am I doing?’ For April and Leo’s relationship cancer was their epic bond. Technically she’s in remission and technically he’s cancer-free since his tumor is gone. It begs the question, ‘was that the only thing? How can this relationship survive that?’ It really tests their commitment to one another entering into what really is a reboot of a traditional courtship.

There was another version when we decided to keep him alive where 1B could’ve opened seeing April in the cemetery talking to a gravestone. You assume it’s Leo but then we reveal that April is introducing her father to her new boyfriend which was great and fun. We even got so far as to outlining it, but then the more I thought about it I was like ‘I don’t feel like we really explored this couple enough to earn that.’ The circumstances were different for their relationship. It turned out the way that it did which gave us a little more time to ease into these two people getting to know each other after this whirlwind, epic romance of life and death stakes when they are both now cancer-free. We’re all really excited with how it turned out.

TTJ: Switching to the other side of the coin, we have Dominic who doesn’t seem to be changing his mind about April any time soon. They had the intense fight on the stairwell which makes us think that’s not the last tense moment they are going to have. Is there any hope for Team Dominic fans that things will get less awkward between them soon?

PSS: Yeah I think it’s always darkest before the dawn. That’s something that Leo and April got to explore in 1A and I think it’s something that April and Dominic’s relationship is in that place now. He was angry and I’ve seen a lot of very harsh reactions to poor Dominic. My interpretation, and what we always imagined it to be, is that he’s hurt and if he didn’t still have feelings for her then he would be indifferent. But he does have feelings for her. He made himself vulnerable to her. She was the first girl he could actually see a future with and she betrayed him. It’s a little bit of that ‘once bitten, twice shy’ situation for him now. The fact that they are working together is super awkward. We will see more of that before we start to see a reconciliation. We do see them grow closer over this next 10 and move past the betrayal and into a better place. It’s a really nice journey for the character of Dominic as well as their relationship.

TTJ: Another relationship that had a bit of a rocky start to the season was Brenna and Greer’s. It was a little surprising that Greer didn’t put up a fight against her parents. Will we see her attitude change and take a stand soon?

PSS: Absolutely! In the next couple of episodes we really understand why she is so hesitant to stand up to her parents. It’s something we haven’t really shown yet. I think her behavior [in the premiere] will be explained over the next couple of episodes. We really start to see Greer assume a little more of Brenna’s rebellious attitude towards her parents, towards everything.

PSS: There’s always hope … even for Sara and George.

TTJ: We were surprised by Grandma Emma’s reaction to them. We’re assuming their secret will be revealed soon to the girls?

TTJ: Lastly, have you guys ever considered an episode focusing on our favourite character, Grandma Emma? We got a little bit of her Navy backstory. Will we see anything fun out of Grandma Emma this season?

PSS: I love the idea of an Emma-centric episode. We have not discussed that. I can’t promise that in this 10. But I can’t say that as we are working in Season 2 now that doesn’t happen. She is an amazing character and such an incredible actress. We do get to see more of her life in a relationship.

Were you as relieved as we were that Leo survived? Are you excited to see him and April try for a real relationship? Or are you on Team Dominic? Hit up the comments below with all your thoughts and predictions for Season 1B of

Chasing Life. Take a look at the next all-new episode here:

Chasing Life airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC Family and ABC Spark.

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Associate Editor Bridget Liszewski comes from a long line of TV Junkies who fostered her love of television from a very young age. Lately life keeps her pretty busy, so she often refers to the DVR as one of her VERY best friends. Some of her all-time favorite shows include Friends, ER, Buffy, Gilmore Girls and Friday Night Lights. Bridget is always up for talking TV and you can follow her on twitter at @BridgetOnTV.

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