Adapted from the comics series of the same name by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, the supernatural series Revival premieres tomorrow on Syfy. The series follows police officer Dana Cypress (Melanie Scrofano) as she prepares to leave her hometown of Wausau, Wisconsin with her young son, Cooper (Hudson Wurster), only for her life to be upended when the recently deceased rise from their graves on what comes to be known as “Revival Day.” After returning to life, the “revivers” appear and act just like they were before they died. As the town is quarantined and gripped by fear, Dana finds herself at the center of a murder investigation where both the living and the dead are suspects, all while contending with her own family secrets and her estranged sister, Em (Romy Weltman).

Recently, SciFi Vision spoke with stars Scrofano and Weltman about working on the series, playing sisters, where they pulled inspiration from besides the script and comics, and more.

Watch the interview and read the transcript below.


***Edited for clarity and length***

SCIFI VISION:   To start out, why don't you both talk about why you wanted to be a part of it?

MELANIE SCROFANO:   Well, yeah, because I thought I was going to be Em. I saw the cover, the hoodie and everything. I was like, “Ooh, broody, sexy.”

ROMY WELTMAN:   But then I showed her she was on the cover.

MELANIE SCROFANO:   Yeah, less broody and sexy, babe. So, anyway - but I still had freckles! But then I looked into [it]; I did a deeper dive. I opened the book [laughs] and then just her wit, Dana's wit, and like the fact that she's - I've never been a single mother. So, I really respect it's hard enough with a partner, but like as a single parent, I just really love that. I love that she - her dad was the sheriff, and how small that would probably make her feel and how she would have to extra prove herself, because people would extra not take her seriously. So, just on a base level, she was compelling to me.

ROMY WELTMAN:   Yeah, for me, I got the audition. I originally auditioned for Kay (Maia Jae Bastidas), Em’s roommate in the story. And I remember I did a deep dive on the comic book, trying so hard to find this character who wasn't originally in the comics and was created to help create this universe. And I just honestly, while researching, I fell in love with this character Em, and I was like, “I want to read for Em.” Fast forward a few months. I got an audition for Em, and I just really connected with her. I found a lot of myself, a lot of the people I love, in her. I'm really passionate about telling stories that mean something to me, especially when it comes to mental health, and I think Em’s story really encourages conversations around everything, including mental health.

I just felt like it was the perfect opportunity to challenge myself and be involved in something. I also really love adaptations and things that are created from past content and put into different mediums. I think it gives you an opportunity to use something that's been created but also add a little bit of yourself to it.

SCIFI VISION:   Yeah. I was going to ask you both, where did you pull for the character other than the comic books and the script? Like was some of it you? I see a little bit of Wynonna in there with the smartassness. So, where else did you pull from?

MELANIE SCROFANO:   Yeah, for me, I think I wish I had a crafty good answer that makes me look like a really good actor, but like, I think it was just like showing up and flying by the seat of our pants, because there was no time. So, it was more - we had a really nice long conversation in the office with our showrunners, Aaron [B. Koontz] and Luke [Boyce], and Romy was there. And David [James Elliott], our dad was there and even Hudson [Wurster] was there for a bit. And that was really helpful just discuss the dynamics. Then, I think because we had no time, a lot of - I'll speak for myself, but a lot of myself, just naturally I pulled from myself, only because we just didn't have the time to be crafty. I didn't.

ROMY WELTMAN:   No, I probably agree with that. I also do think something I've learned through my years in this industry is that the best thing you can do is bring a version of yourself to every character, because that's what you have to offer. I definitely pulled unintentionally a lot from my high school self, my 14-year-old Romy, who was a bit more emo and quieter and wanted to just be in her room alone all the time. I always say Em is kind of me behind closed doors, the version of me that not everyone always gets to see.

And I also pulled - she kind of reminds me of my big sister a lot. She reminds me of certain people that I've met in my life. So, I kind of just pulling from different experiences, but also, Luke and Aaron and our writing team just did so wonderfully, and they made it really easy for us to not need to do so much homework even and just take what was on the page and bring it to life.

MELANIE SCROFANO:   And then, like, to give credit to the people we're working with too, it's not just pulling from ourselves, but then what they're offering really kind of shapes [it] - like the way our dad treats us. Well, that's going to shape the way I react. So, a lot of it was what they were offering shaped the character, because how would you react to this?

ROMY WELTMAN:   A hundred percent. There were scenes that I did not expect going in the way that they went, and that was just because working with somebody across from you makes it all the more different, especially when you're working with somebody who's really playing the character and has embodied the character versus maybe a friend who's just running lines with you for the sake of them, or we're running them on the phone quickly just to make sure we're comfortable versus doing it.

SCIFI VISION:   We have about a minute left, so really quickly talk about playing sisters, just kind of building that relationship.

MELANIE SCROFANO:   We hated it.

SCIFI VISION:   It was so bad.

MELANIE SCROFANO:   I said before, if anybody doesn't bond immediately with Romy, they are like not functional human beings. There's something wrong in their system and they need to be – So, it was really just show up and fall in love. Done.

ROMY WELTMAN:   Mel's a natural born leader, in my opinion. The second I met her, I just knew I was in really good hands. It's really awesome to have a really incredible woman to look up to in this industry who just sets the tone on set and makes everyone feel safe and comfortable and advocates for everybody. I just knew the second I met her that I was safe, I was comfortable, and I had my person in New Brunswick.