Thread by @nerdsandbeyond

The panel has started!

@jarpad, @Kat_McNamara, #MattBarr & #JustinJohnsonCortez

#WalkerIndependence

JP: From Seamus he wanted everyone to know what inspired the idea. He's always wanted to do a western. When he wrote for Walker her created and then killed a character and everyone was mad. So he talked to Anna and talked about a spin-off/prequel in 2021.
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Kat on role: Always wanted to do a period piece. In reading the script I realized it wasn't your traditional western. They're subverting the whole idea of what a western is. #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

Matt: I always lean toward those characters who are reaching for their moral compass. He's trying to do the right thing but especially in the Wild West nice guys didn't survive. I like that about this version of Hoyt. He's a little dangerous. #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

JJC: I've had the opportunity to portray my heritage but The world didn't get to see it. I always get nervous in a period piece because it's not always told in the best way. It usually doesn't end well for them. #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

JJC: I was a little nervous but I loved the script. I love riding and horses and after meeting the team I believed you guys were going to do it right. #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

Matt: we actually got to go to cowboy camp while on set it was great. #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

Matt: Jared is one of the nicest people out there and I'm so happy to be working with him again.

@jarpad #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

JP: Walker Independence is a story on the cusp of great change going on ironically like now in the 2020s. We're showing how people are discovering their town and who they are and what they will become.

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Kat: No one is truly good or truly evil and we get to see that throughout the show.

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Matt: there's something wickedly romantic about the Wild West and texas justice. The eye for an eye thing, you steal my cow I'm going to steal yours. We fight and die for the same things. Our home our family our honor.

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JJC: J: It's not unlike the world I live in now. You find yourself in a place you're not fully comfortable in and you have to be cautious and weary. Gus is his ally in the town. #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

JJC: The west for me is exciting because I have different perspective because of my ancestry so it's exciting for me to be able to tell that part of the story. #WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11

Kat: one of my fave scenes is when Abby arrives and is walking through the town and meeting all these characters. It's such a fascinating cast that we get to explore.

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JJC: as you said you guys did the research and a number of those residents were black and Hispanic and so to see those characters on screen is accurate and also important.

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It's weird to be doing a panel about a show that's yet to be fully written (says Seamus) but Kat gets fascinated by the world building and story telling and likes to know the details.

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Matt likes experiencing it in real time along with the audiences

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JJC: likes to know as much background as possible. He'll make it up anyway but he likes to know the details too.

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JP on behind the camera: to be on this side of the camera and see the magic happening is amazing. Pilots are often filmed over time but we had 9 days to shoot this and that's why we went to the dream team.

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JP: They have to have their characters down pat and you all came in with your characters formed and ready to go.

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Matt is just happy to tell texas stories 😂

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Kat on accent: a team choice but the Boston accent didn't quite exist yet so it was a choice not to have something too modern happening.

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What do they want for their characters as the script isn't fleshed out yet?

JJC: wants to do the cowboy stuff but also do things people aren't used to hearing or seeing.
Matt: wants to rob a train Or get on top of the train while it's being robbed

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Kat: Abby isn't afraid to push buttons and push boundaries of what society expects of her. Excited to see her keep doing that.
JP: just wants more shirtless Matt and JJC. 😂

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JP: Independence is not just a town, it's a town of people who are discovering futures. It's more about everyone deciding who they are in this blank slate and empty canvass. We want to see the very real struggle.
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JP: Even as we sit here today we have a basic idea of who we think we are but it's a brutal process to get there. It's the same in the show. There are people who have to find themselves and over the next 10-15 seasons we're going to do that. 😂

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JP: the story of texas will be built into the show.

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*editor note: sorry if there are some typos -- we are livetweeting as fast as we can 😂

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JP: they have a plan but it's flexible. We certainly have a roadmap but it's flexible.

He Likened it to a road trip and there may be detours but there is a plan.

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Audience asked if Abby was pregnant.

JP: Knows but won't say
Kat: it's a real big skirt so we won't know for a while.

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Audience member thanked them for the diversity on the show and how refreshing it is to see it depicted.

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JP: that's why Seamus wrote this. To give voices to those groups and highlight diversity. Seamus said it's a real picture of the west if you look deeper.

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JJC: the diversity you see isn't just in front of the camera it's behind the camera. It's in the writers room too & it's cool to see that happening & they have the integrity to make sure they are filling the writers room with that diversity.

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That's it!

Thanks for following along, and a big thank you to our editor @bookbag09 for live-tweeting the panel!

#WalkerIndependence #ATXTVS11