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 On Thursday, September 23, we spoke with the creator of NBC's new hit show, The Event, Nick Wauters. Mr. Wauters brought along one of his leading actors, Ian Anthony Dale (pictured at left), who plays CIA Agent, Simon Lee. Those who missed the pilot episode, but who want to jump in and start watching the show, can catch it online.
USTOWNHALL SPEAKS TO NICK WAUTERS AND IAN ANTHONY DALE OF THE EVENT:
USTH: If The Event should get a cancellation notice before the central mystery is resolved is there a way to sort of tack on a final episode that would resolve all the plot lines or do you really need to finish out the season and go into Season 2 in order to conclude the story properly?
NICK WAUTERS: That's a great question. You know, I've planned out – as I said before – I've really planned out what Season 1 should be and how we're going to continue into Season 2.
There's a plan that kind of defines how each piece of the puzzle fits together. But I think right now we're doing really well which – fingers crossed – it's going to continue.
But my hope is that if we were to eventually get a cancellation before we can solve any stories or before its time that we could get that extra episode to wrap up story lines.
So that's definitely something that I would want to do. I'm frustrated sometimes when I follow a serialized show and then it gets pulled and you never get any of your answers.
So I understand the frustration and you don't want to invest all this time if you're not going to get a resolution at the end. So we'll do our best to do that if it happens.
 USTH: Regarding the series logo, one of the things that we always see is when they flash the logo on the screen the second E in "The Event" flips over backwards. Is that any sort of representation about something in the series or symbolic of something in the series – something we should sort of look at as a clue? Or is simply an artistic flourish?
NICK WAUTERS: It's something that you can – well, actually I can't really tell you, it's one of those mysteries so maybe it actually does mean something. But definitely our graphic designers do an amazing job and you know there may be something to that.
USTH: Okay. Has The Event changed much from your original pitch to NBC? If so, what changes did the network ask you to make that you incorporated into the series?
NICK WAUTERS: The original pitch was based on a spec script that was written four and a half years ago, but when NBC looked at it and decided to buy it last fall the one change that they wanted to make is they asked me if I would be open to adding a small element of science fiction which I didn't have before.
And I'm very much into sci-fi, I'm kind of a big sci-fi geek and so for me that was actually very, very exciting and I jumped on the opportunity, went away and the pilot itself, the characters are you know pretty much the way they were before.
The way the pilot is structured is pretty much the same but it's really the bible of the show and what happens next, that's what I spent a lot of time working on during the development process.
Because of that added element of science fiction and again, it's definitely there but it's only one of the many elements that make up the fabric of our show.
USTH: From what I have read, you intend to wrap up the central mystery of what The Event is early on in Season 2. And you'll wrap it up early then rather than dragging it out for five or six years.
But, is there any concern on your part that once you do wrap up the central mystery that the audience will sort of feel satisfied that they got their answers and simply tune out? What do you plan to do on your end to keep the audience glued to that TV after that central mystery is resolved?
NICK WAUTERS: I've always imagined and designed The Event itself as a seminal event that will affect the characters and the world in which they live.
And it's something that will happen early on in the life of the series. We haven't picked exactly when, but it's not going to be the end all. So you're going to follow our characters before The Event, during The Event and after The Event.
So, in a way, I'm hoping that the mysteries and the sub-mysteries we set up along the way will capture the attention of our audience, but also [that] our characters [will as well].
I mean, I really hope people respond to our characters and in the end that's why they'll tune in, just to find out what happens to our characters, whether it's before, during or after The Event.
USTH: OK, and to finish off, here's a question for actor Ian Anthony Dale. Ian, I noticed, looking over your credits, that in a previous show called Surface that aired in 2005, you played a character called Davis Lee who was sort of a government guy also.
That's an example of a show that ended before the storyline was resolved, but maybe as a wink to the fans, you guys can put in a reference, "Oh, by the way, I have this twin brother who was involved in his own conspiracy" or something like that.
Ian, I know it might be hard to remember – you've done so many things since then – but how would you describe the similarities and differences between Davis Lee from Surface and Simon Lee from The Event?
IAN ANTHONY DALE: Well let's see, Davis Lee... I think we started to kind of explore the idea that he might have been a clone at the end of the series. I don't know if we ever really explicitly said that but I know we kind of alluded to that.
And I can tell you with 100% certainty that Simon Lee is not a clone, but they do have certain similarities in that they had to kind of live duplicitous lives, but you know one thing that we're getting to do very quickly on The Event that we never got to do on Surface is really explore the character and understand what motivates him.
And, as a result, the Simon Lee character is becoming much more fleshed out and much more interesting. And I think everybody's going to get a kick out of learning about Simon Lee as the show continues.
USTH: Gentlemen, thanks to you both for taking the time out of your busy schedules to answer our questions. I'm sure fans of The Event will appreciate it.
The Event airs Mondays at 9:00pm Eastern & Pacific, 8:00pm Central on NBC.
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