***The following has major spoilers for the special***

The wait is finally over today for Earpers, as Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano) and Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) return in Wynonna Earp: Vegeance, an all-new special on Tubi. When the special picks up, Wynonna and Doc are out hitting the casinos, trying to make some money so they can buy a place and bring their daughter, Alice, home. Meanwhile, back at the homestead, Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and Nicole (Katherine Barrell) are still happily married, but trouble comes to Purgatory when a new demon (Karen Knox) comes to town.

Earlier in the week, the creator of the original series, who also wrote and executive produced the special, Emily Andras, talked to SciFi Vision about coming back to Earp, including how she felt coming back, if she was worried how fans would react, if season five would have been different, why a certain character was killed, bonus scenes, if there’s a possibility for more Earp, what’s surprised her about the characters’ journeys, how she’s changed, and much much more!

Watch the full interview and read the transcript below. You can watch Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, now on Tubi!



SCIFI VISION:   To start out, coming back to set, what was it like? Because obviously, you know, the set was struck. Things were gone. How was everything? How did it feel coming back?

EMILY ANDRAS:  I mean, of two minds, right? Like we had the privilege of actually giving our series an ending, which is so unusual in this day and age, and it was an ending that everybody loved, which is like, wow, that never happens. So, I was nervous. I was nervous. We had had options to sell off basically every prop, every truck, every fingernail, every demon claw. So, we didn't have much when we came back to set, but it also kind of made it feel new. Like new network, we're on Tubi, new special, you know, new format. And it all kind of dissipated and felt just incredible when we all stepped on the homestead. That was the moment early on where I was like, “Oh my god, we're back. This is actually happening. This isn't a prank. We're doing more Earp,” and it was both exhilarating and like we'd never left.

SCIFI VISION:   You sort of mentioned this, which was my next question, is that season four pretty much ended perfectly. So, I mean, are you at all worried, kind of, I guess, how people are going to react to it now that it's something else?

EMILY ANDRAS:  I mean, I am, but that's sort of the cost of having more Earp, right? Like so many stories end on happily ever after, but then, what happens? That's not real life, right? I feel like Earp has never really played by the rules, Jamie, to be honest. Like, we had a pregnant superhero, and we went down because of financial concerns; we had Covid. So, once I kind of shed that worry, I was like, “Yes, we can. We can meet these characters where they are now.” They're not twenty-one; they are matured. I told the cast that we would meet them where they were and tell a story that's a little bit profound about changing and evolving and choosing family and love and sacrifice and all that stuff. So, yeah, I'm sure people are going to have lots of opinions, but it's all just part of my nefarious plan to get more Earp. So, I can take it. Remind me I told you that.

SCIFI VISION:   Was any of this, though, what you had originally planned, if you got a season five, or was this a whole new idea?

EMILY ANDRAS:  This was a whole new idea. And that, again, was the mandate, because we had a new network. Tubi was very keen, but they also were like, “We don't want someone to have to have a spreadsheet of all four seasons of Earp to tune in.” We already know those Earpers are going to tune in. This is a chance to get a whole new audience. We want the Earper’s stepdad or their sister or their cat to be able to watch this and kind of understand that Wynonna Earp is like a totally unlikely wild demon hunter. This is her dysfunctional posse of dipshits who help her. They fight the supernatural in their beautiful hamlet in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, go. Like, I just think they really wanted to strip down some of the mythology. That being said, of course, there's lots of Easter eggs and everything for the original Earpers. But no, I think if it was this in series form for season five, I would have told a very different story with a different villain. We would have had more time to explain those stories, but I knew I wanted something really personal for Wynonna about her past and standalone, so that's what we did.

SCIFI VISION:  I have to ask, though…You killed Doc. I mean, it’s left open, but I mean, what was behind that decision? I know you said things aren't always happily ever after, but other than that, like, where did that come?

EMILY ANDRAS:  That came from Tim Rozon.

SCIFI VISION:   Oh, really? Wow.

EMILY ANDRAS:   Yeah. So, this was, like, we needed a catalyst. Like, if I'm Tubi, I was like, “Why would we keep going? What is the story? What have you not told?” You have a happily married couple, and you have a couple riding off into the sunset, and Tim Rozon, because he is the Earpiest Earp of all time, was like, “I will do anything to get this fandom more of what they love.” He said to Tubi, “Well, Doc has been on an adventure. He's been a bad guy; he's been a gunslinger. He's been a good guy, he's been a father, he's been a vampire, but he hasn't gone on the greatest adventure of all, which is death.” So, that's what he pitched. Tubi said “We loved it.” I said to Tim, when we got greenlit, “Are you sure? I can talk them out of it.” We agreed that this is a very moving, profound story. It would matter to Doc that he went out the way he did, protecting the people he loved, as a good person. And you know, more nefariously, I feel like worst case scenario, if everyone is mad, maybe they'll clamber for more Earp. Listen, I would love to see Hot Zombie Doc. I'm sure you wouldn't hate that coming out of the ground with no shirt on. Just stay with me, Jamie, it wouldn't be the worst. So, we'll see what happens. But I did think, “It's a special. It's not a series.” They wanted things to matter. They wanted some loss. They wanted some big emotions, some big swings. So, look, death is something we're all going to have to deal with, whether it's to a loved one or our own. Not for me. You guys do you, but I've decided that's I'm not going to participate. But I just think it felt moving, and the fact that maybe you don't love it means you care about the character. So, there you go.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah, it was very shocking. I definitely cried. Now you gotta go back and fix it.

EMILY ANDRAS:  Good, good help me.

SCIFI VISION:   Now I gotta ask, the comment in the show. Obviously, she says it feels more like a reboot than a reunion. I mean, I'm assuming there's probably been some kind of talks, it sounds like from what you're saying, but is there something coming? I know you can't probably outright tell me.

EMILY ANDRAS:  Like, I don't want to promise anything. Nothing is guaranteed. That is my 100% truth answer. Like, I am notorious for doing a billion cliffhangers, right? Because this is my Machiavellian way of being like, “Well, we’ve got to come back.” So, look, Tubi knows about the passion of the audience, but it's not the largest audience. It's a very loud audience. So, look, we’ve got to show up in the most old fashioned ways, which is numbers. We’ve got to view it a bunch of times. You know, there's got to be good numbers for Tubi, but then there is definitely the opportunity to tell more. We may also have even shot some bonus material that if we do enough, we could maybe at a later date showcase to see where we go next. So, yeah, of course. Look, I'm so into Earp, like I will do Earp Golden Girls, I will do Nicole and Wynonna in the rockers on the porch, if you want me to for forty years. So, just being back in this world, all jokes aside, it made me realize how much more story these characters have to give and how much more we could do with them. So, I would love the opportunity to do more. Yeah, of course, it's always a possibility.

SCIFI VISION:   Well, I hope so. I want to see more. I know you obviously, if you're gonna maybe have more, you can't tell me things you would have added, but, is there anybody that you would have liked to have brought back that you couldn't, just for time or whatever, any other character?

EMILY ANDRAS:  Yeah, I mean, I would say, again, there were certain elements that stayed in. Like, you know, there's interesting facts about the characters, like the fact that Nicole is the angel shield, and she can't leave the Ghost River Triangle is a really interesting character trait. Or, like, I always have time for more Bobo Del Rey (Michael Eklund). You know what I mean? He's just such a delicious villain. And I would have loved to done more Black Badge and Jeremy (Varun Saranga). But again, because it was a little bit of a reboot, only in the most general sense, I think it was so important that a newbie understood what the four core characters were about. And then again, because you have your Bunny Loblaw (Jann Arden) and people showing up, Chrissy Nedley (Dana Christina), what have you. Yeah, there's still a nod to this rich sort of world of Earpdom, but there was a ton. There's tons that get cut out. And of course, I always write as if I have a $20 million budget. So, someday I'll show you that script. And I'm like, “Oh, sure, there's elephants and balloons, and Meryl Streep is going to play Mina (Knox)'s mom,” you know, all that stuff. But maybe next time.

SCIFI VISION:   You talk about characters, I was like, “Yay, Mercedes (Dani Kind) is back!” That didn't last very long. [laughs]

EMILY ANDRAS:  Well, you know, as a fellow redhead, I'm sure. Yeah, well, we needed a catalyst to get Wynonna home and again, it had to be something crazy.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah. So, let me ask you, if you think back to when you first started this journey, what's something that has surprised you that happened to your characters? Because I know they take on a life of their own to some extent. Even though you're the writer, you never necessarily know where they're going to go. So, what's something that's really surprised you.

EMILY ANDRAS:  I mean nothing will nothing will surprise me more than when Melanie Scrofano said “I'm pregnant” in second season, right? Like we had almost the entire season written, and for a minute I convinced myself that we could just do it with Mel pregnant. We could just do the story without Wynonna pregnant. Then, I always remember one of my fellow writers put up pictures of the different trimesters and what women look like. And when we got to episode ten, eleven, twelve, Mel was going to be in third trimester. We were like, “There's not a laundry basket large enough to hide that.” So often in TV, especially with something as scrappy as Earp that has a low budget, things that seem like accidents become opportunities. Like season two is one of my favorite seasons, because it's so unexpected, you know, Wynonna, who's promiscuous and didn't even have a relationship, to get pregnant and make the choices she did, just enrich the character so much. And I think I have such a soft spot for the journey that this cast has gone on as well, like watching Dom on their journey of sexuality and gender identity, and Kat become a mom, and Mel become a director, and Tim's become a leading man. Like some of that informs the character, I think, just like getting older, for all of us. So, if you looked at the Bible for the first season, you would be shocked at the things I thought would happen versus what did happen.

SCIFI VISION:   So, we're almost out of time. Let me ask you, how have you changed since the beginning? You as Emily.

EMILY ANDRAS:  I know you can never be arrogant enough to be like, “This is going to be the one that's a huge hit, and there's going to be conventions all over the world and people screaming at me, because I killed a hot gunslinger.” Like you can't even - even though you hope for those things, there's something so profound as a creator to write a story in your head that other people say, “I feel seen with that. I feel seen with this. I understand what you were trying to do, and I adore it. I feel like it's caused me to trust my own voice more.” But more than that, I will never not be grateful and privileged to do Earp. Do you know what I mean? I would never turn my back on it. It feels like a gift that so few creators get, just to have encountered this cast and this fandom and this phenomenon, and talking to you guys, all the reporters who have been with us since the beginning. That has made me really feel grateful for my life when times are tough. So thanks.

SCIFI VISION:  
Sure, and thank you. It's great show. I do seriously hope you get more. I've been a fan from the beginning.

EMILY ANDRAS:  I promise. We can fix this. We can fix this. Stay with me. We can fix this really sexily. We can fix this really sexy.

SCIFI VISION:   I'm sure they'll be fanfic too, until then.

EMILY ANDRAS: 
Oh, yeah, of course, exactly, I can't read it, but enjoy. Yeah, exactly, Hot Zombie Doc, it works for me.