SDCC Exclusive: Callum McGowan Opens Up About Season Two Of ‘The Librarians: The Next Chapter’

TNT took over San Diego Comic Con this past weekend with an magical panel for The Librarians: The Next Chapter. Ahead of their panel, BB, and fellow press, sat down with star of the series, Callum McGowan to discuss the highly anticipated second season.

On working on an American television series: “It’s been a great experience. For me, getting to work on an American show has been really exciting. It’s a fantastic opportunity, and the whole team has made the experience really enjoyable.”

On how his character’s background builds to the team’s greatest strength: “Liv [Olivia Morris] came up with this analogy that I’ve been using ever since—we’re like the legs of a table. You need all four of us to keep it standing. Every character brings something different, and when we’re together, that’s when everything works. None of us could do it alone, but together we balance each other out.”

On how the cast managed to establish their chemistry: “I think Dean Devlin [showrunner] cast the show really well. He knew the kinds of personalities he wanted, and we all clicked almost immediately. From the first episode it felt like we were part of something special. Thankfully, none of us turned out to be psychopaths—well, we’re all a little weird—but we genuinely enjoy spending time together. It never really feels like work because we’re working with friends. That makes a huge difference.”

On whether their were a lot of bloopers on set:  “There were loads. Mostly it was just us laughing. By the end of a long shooting day everyone’s brains have gone, someone gets a line slightly wrong, and that’s it—we’re all crying with laughter. We also had plenty of moments where we’d completely miss our marks. We’d finish a scene, look down, and realize we were nowhere near where we were supposed to be standing. The camera department probably loved us for that! We worked through a lot of pages every day, so by the end everyone’s a bit delirious.”

On whether the cast spent time offset together: “All the time. Jessica (Green) had filmed in Belgrade before, so she already knew all the great places and kind of took us under her wing. We went to concerts, explored restaurants, saw films at the IMAX, and just hung out whenever we could. I also host a Eurovision party every year, and that became a bit of a tradition while we were filming. When you’re away from home for months, it’s really important to have that kind of friendship.”

On whether working on the show has changed the way they think about mythology and folklore: “Definitely. One of the things I love is how the writers build this world around myths and legends that are often rooted in real history. You’ll read something in the script that sounds unbelievable, then discover it’s actually inspired by genuine folklore. As actors, we’re fans of the show too, so reading those scripts is exciting for us.”

On whether seeing the finished episodes surprise him after filming: “Absolutely. A lot of the time we’re acting against blue screens, so we have no idea what the final effects are going to look like. When we finally watch the finished episodes, we’re experiencing them as fans. The visual effects this season are incredible, especially some of the action sequences. The fights look fantastic, and it’s exciting to finally see everything come together.”

On creating his own magical artifact:  “The Magic Door would be pretty hard to beat. Being able to go anywhere instantly would be amazing. I also thought about time travel, but that’s usually a terrible idea if movies have taught us anything!”

On whether there is a myth or legend he’d love the show to explore in the future:  “I’d love to dive into ancient history—Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, samurai-era Japan, Vikings—anything like that. Those cultures have so many fascinating myths and legends that would fit perfectly into the world of The Librarians.”

On whether he was able to improvise much this season: “Quite a lot, actually. The writers gave us more freedom this season to play around with dialogue and improvise. You try different things, and sometimes they end up in the final cut. It’s always a great feeling when you’re watching an episode months later and one of your improvised lines made it in.”

On he would invite to guest star on the show:  “Noah Wyle would be fantastic. And honestly, Ryan Gosling wouldn’t be a bad choice either!”

Season two of The Librarians: The Next Chapter premieres on TNT on August 2.

Photo Credit: Aleksandar Letic

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.