Fandoms and the Future of “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency”

by · October 9, 2017

Over the weekend, I had the privilege of sitting down to speak with the show creator and cast of BBC America‘s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, a television series starring Samuel Barnett and Elijah Wood. Based on Douglas Adams novels, the television show centers on Dirk Gently, a holistic detective who investigates cases involving the supernatural.

Show creator Max Landis revealed that he has the plot scoped out for four seasons, including major and minor plot points. Landis knows exactly where the characters are going and how they are going to get there. He’s been incredibly grateful to BBC America for letting him run off with his wildest imagination. “I do whatever I want, all the time. The degree to which they let me… I’ve been very lucky,” he admitted.

 

 

Landis is doing something that reminds me a little bit of J.K. Rowling herself where he’s letting his actors in on the secrets. Fiona Dourif, who plays Bart, confided that Landis will divulge as much information as needed to help understand her character. Whether it’s the cereal she eats for breakfast or what she wore on the second day of school, he has it all up in his brain. Fans will be comforted to know that the plot will remain consistent and shouldn’t anticipate any major shakeups.

I talked fandom with a few of the cast and for Matt Landis’s favorite? Star Wars.

“Leia is my favorite character in the first three movies… you’ll notice in all of my movies and TV shows, that if there is ever a woman who needs to be rescued, not only do they rescue themselves, but also, they end up rescuing the people who came to rescue them, and the reason I do that is because of Leia.”

Hannah Marks, who plays Amanda Brotzman, admitted that she’s not necessarily into the sci-fi or fantasy fandoms, but more of The Office. I asked her and Jade Eshete, who plays Farah Black, what fandoms they’d place their characters into, and Marks responded earnestly with Veep. For Eshete, it was Game of Thrones and more specifically House Stark (both her character and herself).

Samuel Barnett, who plays Dirk Gently, confessed he’d want to be in Doctor Who but feels the likelihood is little to none since he plays a character too similar already. Elijah Wood, however, would like to see Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s comic book series, Y: The Last Man, be made. While he didn’t say exactly if he’d like to star, by his upbeat attitude and passion, I’m confident he would be game if someone asked him.

 

 

I recommend Potter fans give Dirk Gently a chance if you’re into other series such as Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Westworld, and more. Every season is different, with the last focusing on body swapping, and this one is more of the general supernatural. From the first two episodes of Season 2 that I’ve seen, this is going to be an excellent season for the characters and a true pleasure to watch.

Even Barnett and Wood admit, “Season 2 is better. We love Season 1, but Season 2…”

The show’s second season premieres next Saturday, October 14 at 9 p.m. EST / 8 p.m. CT on BBC America. You can stream the first season on Hulu if you’re in the US. If not, you can stream it on Netflix.