'In Plain Sight' Actress Mary McCormack Talks Season 2 Traumatic Stress by Troy Rogers
Actress
Mary McCormack has settled into her role as U.S.
Marshall, Witness Protection agent, Mary Shannon,
for a second season on USA Network's In Plain
Sight. After a successful first season of
relocating witnesses for the WITSEC team, McCormack's
Mary Shannon now finds herself dealing with Post
Traumatic Stress after being kidnapped amid a
balancing act between being a Federal agent and
a mother to her in-need-of-guidance sister, Brandi
(Nichole Hiltz), and struggling alcoholic mother,
Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren). Also, given the fact
that Mary is trying to juggle a love life with
on-again-off-again boyfriend Raphael (Cristián
de la Fuente), it's enough drama to send anyone
into their own self imposed Witness Protection
program.
Now that In Plain Sight is back on the USA Network airwaves on Sunday nights at 10pm, both Mary McCormack and Mary Shannon have their hands full within the Federal halls of the Witness Protection program with partner Marshall Mann, played by actor Fred Weller.
In an effort to get the Season 2 goods on what we can expect from In Plain Sight and how Mary Shannon will be keeping both her home life and career intact, we hopped on a conference call with Mary McCormack to talk traumatic events, Witness Protection job performance, and how Shannon will be dealing with her sister and mother in between her demanding Witness Protection day job.
THE DEADBOLT: So how is Albuquerque treating you after the first season?
MARY MCCORMACK: It’s pretty good, Albuquerque. I mean there’s a lot that shoots there, so it’s very film friendly and they’re very welcoming to film crews. I really like it. You know, first of all, I think New Mexico is a great backdrop for the show, it’s really beautiful to look at and unusual and you don’t see it on other shows. But also the city is pretty great. I mean it’s got the university, it’s pretty happening, there’s a lot of theater, there’s good restaurants ...
THE DEADBOLT: What was your favorite episode from season one?
MCCORMACK: "Trojan Horst" was a good one and I also loved "Iris Doesn’t Live Here Anymore", because I thought Wendell Pierce was really beautiful in that and I thought it really exhibited what a huge loss it is for people when they go into witness protection program. Like what an enormous thing it is to walk away from every single person they know and love and you know. So I thought that was a good episode, a lot because of that.
THE DEADBOLT: How much will Post Traumatic Stress affect Mary’s job performance when the show returns?
MCCORMACK: You know, it’s interesting, I wonder - how much of her job is affected by it? Certainly there are a few episodes spread over weeks and weeks, but I wonder how much of that continues. I’m trying to think - I guess there’s this whole thing that happens in the end, we’re shooting the two part season finale now. The first half is being directed by my husband and the second half is being directed by our show creator, David Maples.
So we’re in the thick of it right now and I think there’s something - Well, I know there’s a big event that happens that will be questioned and brought back to the finale of last year. I mean it’ll be linked to that, meaning, ‘Did that effect this?’ kind of thing. So it will be back, it’ll rear its ugly head again, whether I’ve put this thing behind me or not, this near death thing and the fact that I killed somebody for the first time.
THE DEADBOLT: How would you like to see your character’s relationship with your sister and mother evolve?
MCCORMACK: I don’t know. I think about that a lot, actually, because this year they're sober. I mean my mother is sober, my sister is still drinking, but my mother is kind to rehab and she’s 12-steppy and I like it. That’s interesting because there are all kinds of different tensions. But I liked it the other way, too, because there was a lot to play with that. So I can’t imagine she doesn’t slip at some point, just in terms of it being realistic and knowing Jinx at all. I can’t imagine she doesn’t return to the dark side soon. We’ll see, I could be wrong, David Maples surprises me all of the time.
THE DEADBOLT: How do you see the show stacking up against other police dramas?
MCCORMACK: I think our show is pretty special in that - Well, for a number of reasons. One, I just think witness protection is pretty interesting and you don’t see it in any other police dramas. I mean it’s definitely a singular backdrop. But also tonally I think our show is unusual. I mean it’s not strictly a drama, it’s also really funny and finding a balance is sometimes tricky for us. We have to really think about tone and where the scene changes. Or sometimes it changes within the scene, sometimes it changes scene to scene. So I don’t know, it’s an odd tone, our show.
So I think it’s different for that and also a lot of cop shows are just procedurals. I mean we’re not CSI, you know? Those procedural shows, every week you have a mystery and then by the end of the hour - all of the Dick Wolf shows - by the end of the hour the mystery is solved and next week you have another mystery. Ours has that, but we also have the ongoing story of my life and my relationships. You know, my work relationship and my boyfriend relationship, my family relationship. So I think our show is pretty special for doing all of that within an hour and hopefully doing it well. I mean that’s the challenge, making sure we do all of it well.
Actress
Mary McCormack has settled into her role as U.S.
Marshall, Witness Protection agent, Mary Shannon,
for a second season on USA Network's In Plain
Sight. After a successful first season of
relocating witnesses for the WITSEC team, McCormack's
Mary Shannon now finds herself dealing with Post
Traumatic Stress after being kidnapped amid a
balancing act between being a Federal agent and
a mother to her in-need-of-guidance sister, Brandi
(Nichole Hiltz), and struggling alcoholic mother,
Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren). Also, given the fact
that Mary is trying to juggle a love life with
on-again-off-again boyfriend Raphael (Cristián
de la Fuente), it's enough drama to send anyone
into their own self imposed Witness Protection
program.
MARY MCCORMACK: It’s pretty good, Albuquerque. I mean there’s a lot that shoots there, so it’s very film friendly and they’re very welcoming to film crews. I really like it. You know, first of all, I think New Mexico is a great backdrop for the show, it’s really beautiful to look at and unusual and you don’t see it on other shows. But also the city is pretty great. I mean it’s got the university, it’s pretty happening, there’s a lot of theater, there’s good restaurants ...
MCCORMACK: You know, it’s interesting, I wonder - how much of her job is affected by it? Certainly there are a few episodes spread over weeks and weeks, but I wonder how much of that continues. I’m trying to think - I guess there’s this whole thing that happens in the end, we’re shooting the two part season finale now. The first half is being directed by my husband and the second half is being directed by our show creator, David Maples.
MCCORMACK: I think our show is pretty special in that - Well, for a number of reasons. One, I just think witness protection is pretty interesting and you don’t see it in any other police dramas. I mean it’s definitely a singular backdrop. But also tonally I think our show is unusual. I mean it’s not strictly a drama, it’s also really funny and finding a balance is sometimes tricky for us. We have to really think about tone and where the scene changes. Or sometimes it changes within the scene, sometimes it changes scene to scene. So I don’t know, it’s an odd tone, our show.