Why Justified: City Primeval Cast Won't Star Many Familiar Faces
The FX series "Justified" introduced a series of characters based on the stories of Elmore Leonard. The central protagonist was U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, played by Timothy Olyphant, and he will reprise the character in a new sequel series titled "Justified: City Primeval."
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "Justified: City Primeval" showrunners Michael Dinner and Dave Andron were asked about the possibility of other characters returning from the predecessor series.
Andron responded that while there will be some familiar faces, the majority of the show's characters will be new. "It's cops in Detroit, not marshals in Kentucky," Andron added, "and it really is a standalone Raylan story, just with a few old friends sprinkled throughout," which is a decision that fans have agreed with.
Dinner replied that the new show was more of an ensemble that included Raylan. But it would also focus on Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) and Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). But the city of Detroit was also a key part of the show, particularly Raylan's unfamiliarity with the place. "Raylan's a little bit of a fish out of water in a place that he doesn't understand as well as he understood where he grew up in Kentucky, or Miami where he lives," he elaborated, finishing by saying that any characters in the show are there in service of this story.
The show also gave Olyphant a chance to work with his daughter
While there will be very few returning characters from "Justified" in "Justified: City Primeval," one of the characters confirmed to return is Willa Givens, Raylan's daughter with Winona (Natalie Zea). Willa appeared as a baby in the original series, only showing up as a small child in the series finale. The new series, however, sees her return as a teenager, played now by Timothy Olyphant's real-life daughter, Vivian Olyphant.
Andron and Dinner clarified that they initially didn't plan to cast Vivian, and were actually worried when Timothy mentioned that she was going to send in an audition tape for the character. Andron noted that they were especially concerned about what they would do if she turned out to be a terrible performer.
However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as not only did Vivian turn out to be a good fit for the role, but the dynamic between father and daughter added to the show. "It took about eight minutes on set for her to say, "Dad, stop. Don't give me notes. Don't tell me what to do." " Andron noted, with Dinner adding that "They brought their own baggage to it, which was good, and it was interesting to watch."
Dinner also revealed that Vivian would poll the crew on who was their favorite Olyphant was, but didn't reveal the results. Timothy himself, however, revealed on "Late Night With Seth Meyers" that Vivian handily won, admitting "I lost in a landslide." He added that he only got one vote, from a crew member who was a "Star Wars" fan and remembered his work on "The Mandalorian."