The Big Picture

Morgan Kohan was drawn to the role of Maggie in Sullivan’s Crossing because she resonated with the character’s ambitious and perfectionistic nature. She was excited to see the character’s arc throughout the season. The relationship dynamic between Maggie and Cal is explored throughout the show, with their instant connection creating both excitement and uncertainty for Maggie. The slow burn of their relationship adds to the anticipation and payoff for viewers. The show highlights the importance of community and the impact it can have on someone’s life. Maggie finds purpose and reconnects with herself through helping the people in the town, who support and challenge her to be her true self.

The drama series Sullivan’s Crossing, currently airing on The CW, follows Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan), a star neurosurgeon who feels like her world is imploding when a patient dies and the mother blames her. Looking for some perspective, Maggie returns to her childhood home where she finds a different set of challenges, from her estranged father (Scott Patterson) to a very distracting local resident named Cal Jones (Chad Michael Murray), as she attempts to figure out what’s truly most important to her.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Kohan talked about why the series spoke to her, playing a character who’s at a crossroads in her life, the instant connection Maggie has with Cal, shooting the karaoke scene, the ongoing joke about Cal’s full first name, rebuilding the relationship with her estranged father, already shooting Season 2 in Nova Scotia, and what viewers can expect from the journey the characters take in the first season.

Collider: I love anything with a small town vibe like this that makes me want to go move there.

MORGAN KOHAN: It’s so cozy.

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With a TV series, they can’t tell you everything it’s going to be and all aspects of the character. This is based on a book series, but you also never know for sure what will be carried over and what will change. When this series came your way, what was it that sold you on it? What were you told about who this character would be?

KOHAN: When I first was introduced to the character and to the first script, I really connected with the big city/small town pull. I grew up in a small town and I moved to Toronto as soon as I could, and going back home always rumbles up some feelings. I fully resonated with that and the ambition that Maggie has, and a little bit of the perfectionism, and I’m a bit of a control freak. I resonated with a lot of her. So, once I had the role, the first six episodes were written. I got to see a bit of the first part of her arc, which was really exciting because a lot of the time, you don’t know what’s gonna happen. That sold me on it, seeing what was in store for her and knowing that it only gets better from there. And then, we got episodes seven and eight, and I was frantically reading the episodes to find out what would happen next. It was so exciting.

Now that you’ve finished a season and you know a bit about Season 2, how different does Maggie feel now? Does she feel very much like the same character? Are there things about her that you wouldn’t have expected when you started?

KOHAN: Yeah. I don’t want to spoil too much because you gotta watch it to learn where she ends up. But at the beginning of the season, she really is at a crossroads with what her life looks like and what path she wants to take for herself and who she really wants to be. By the end of it, we see more of that resolution. We’re currently filming Season 2, so it’s exciting to see where this version of her is going.

When you play a character like this where you don’t know the ending of the story for her, how do you keep it interesting for yourself? Do you try to add little nuances to the character all the time?

KOHAN: With every episode, all the scenes, I do a deep dive into what else is going on in her life. What else could she be thinking, throughout the scene? What is the context of what we’re talking about? There are always gonna be more things at play than just what’s on the page. No matter how straightforward a scene might look on the page, there are so many different things you can do with it. So far, I’ve been having a great time with that. There has been no sitting back into it, at all.

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When Maggie and Cal first meet, she seems to make certain assumptions about him while he seems to make certain assumptions about her. Why do you think she’s so quick to judge him? How does it make her feel to realize how wrong she is about him? Is she normally a better judge of people? Why does he, in particular, rub her the wrong way?

KOHAN: She is back in this town, she is on edge, and she’s feeling very vulnerable and very exposed and very judged, herself, by everybody who hasn’t seen her for years. She’s feeling really on display and has her back up and is very defensive. As soon as he comes in and he’s like, “I’ll show you around,” even though she knows this place better, she’s already on the defense because of everything that’s been going on in her life and I definitely think that’s why she snaps so quickly. But also, I think there are some people that you have an instant connection with, and that can be scary. For her, maybe there is a moment of it being jarring to meet him and being like, “I don’t know how I feel about this, so I’m just gonna put it away.” Some of that definitely plays into it, as well.

How much fun is it to get to play and explore that relationship dynamic between them? What has it been like to have Chad Michael Murray to explore that with?

KOHAN: It’s great. We’re both very collaborative and it’s exciting, every time we’re open to each other’s ideas and really playing off what the other is bringing to a scene. It’s just been really fun, every time. Even on the page, that first meeting, I auditioned with that scene, and once I met him and we were doing it on the day, it completely switched. It was completely different than how I had originally done it, just because it was him and how it worked that day. We’re both good in working with what’s happening in the moment, which makes it really great and alive.

There’s a funny karaoke moment in the bar, with Maggie and Sydney singing “I Will Survive.” What was it like to shoot that scene? Did you have to do any special preparation for singing that song?

KOHAN: It’s terrifying at first because you’re like, “I’m so sorry to all the crew that has to listen to us do it, over and over again. I’m sorry to everybody else’s eardrums.” Let’s be real, if I do karaoke, I’m generally not gonna be drinking water all night, so you’re in a different headspace and it’s a little bit scary. But by the time we did it a couple of times, we were having fun with it.

Did it help to have a partner there doing it with you?

KOHAN: Oh, my God, yes. We were in it together, which was great. The more ridiculous she was, the more ridiculous I got. It was great.

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I love the running joke with Maggie trying to guess Cal’s full first name. Were all of those guesses scripted? Did you come up with any yourself?

KOHAN: It was really fun. A lot of them were scripted, but everybody in the cast and crew were constantly coming up with random things to say, that could be his name. It’s a fun reveal when it does come out, because it does come out.

Obviously, there are sparks happening between Maggie and Cal, even if they don’t realize it yet. TV shows always want to keep characters apart, give them obstacles, and prevent them from getting together for as long as possible. How do you feel about that? Is it tricky to find a balance that gives fans what they want, a little at a time? Are you someone who personally wants characters to immediately get together, or do you prefer more of a slow burn?

KOHAN: I think the slow burn is fun because, by the time they do get together, it’s such a payoff. This slow burn is so fun, and that’s fun to play with through the season too. And then, there’s not knowing what the things coming down the pipe will be, that push them away from each other or pull them back.

Does Maggie believe that Andrew is the best choice for her, or will she question her past choices with everything?

KOHAN: It’s something that’s definitely explored through the season. On paper, he’s perfect for her. He’s in the same field, he’s done well for himself, he’s ambitious, he’s super supportive of her. On paper, that’s what we all want. When you’ve told yourself something is right for so long, it takes a while to take a step back and be able to re-evaluate that. Sometimes it takes something that jars you out of it to really see it.

The other important relationship in Maggie’s life is the one with her father, and clearly that’s not the best relationship. What have you enjoyed about getting to explore a dynamic like that, where they’re rebuilding things?

KOHAN: It’s been really interesting. It’s fun. My first scene with Scott [Patterson], who plays Sully, was the scene where they see each other for the first time, when she comes back to the campground. Although we haven’t known each other for years, we are getting to know each other, over the course of filming, so there’s something about having real life and what you’re playing on screen match up in different ways. It’s been really great to see how that relationship builds and what all the history is in there. There’s something that you do when you’ve tried to block someone out for so long, where you try to block out all those feelings and you contextualize everything to make sense of it for you and to make it okay for you. I think they finally get to start to see the other person’s side of it.

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What’s it like to be the one the new one in the dynamic that Scott Patterson and Chad Michael Murray already have?

KOHAN: It’s been really lovely. They know each other, so there’s a familiarity there. It’s not three people being like, “Who are you? Where do you stand?” And they’re both so welcoming and warm and just down to earth. From the beginning, it’s been a pleasure, really, working with both of them.

A town like this has a whole community full of residents that you get to interact with, and everyone knows everyone else’s business. What have you enjoyed about building all those character dynamics and really creating a sense of community on the show while you’re also creating it among the characters?

KOHAN: I love that there is a real community feel to it, in the show and on set. For Season 1, we filmed all through the summer, so it felt like an adult summer camp. It’s been great, with everyone getting to know each other and get comfortable. Maggie is coming back after years, so she’s relearning everybody and finding her place in it all, so it’s that real life imitating art kind of thing.

Will she continue to find a sense of purpose in this town, the more she helps people? Will being there really help her reconnect with herself, in a way she might not realize she needs to do?

KOHAN: I think we see that throughout the season. You’ll get to see what brings that out of her. It is a town of people who want the best for her. They don’t have such a structured view of who they think she should be, and she needs people like that in her life. They really show a mirror up to herself, which I think is important to have.

What’s it like to shoot a series in Nova Scotia?

KOHAN: It’s wonderful. It’s really such a beautiful city. It has its downtown with amazing bars and restaurants, but then it really has that community feel and a small town feel to it, as well. Not to mention that it’s absolutely stunning, everywhere you go. You’re on the ocean. I don’t know how you come up here and not fall in love.

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Without spoilers, what would you say to tease fans who are watching this for the first time on The CW? What would you say about the journey this show and these characters take, over the first season?

KOHAN: They can expect to really fall in love with all of our characters. Everybody’s got something that will speak to them, whether it’s specific characters or relationships or situations that come up. We have a bit of everything in the show. We definitely have the family drama and dynamics that we dig into. We have the medical aspect of it. There are some things that we get to let Maggie shine in. And there’s, of course, a bit of romance because everybody loves that. There’s really something for everybody.

By the end of the season, how much do the dynamics between Maggie and Cal, and also Maggie and Sully, change?

KOHAN: You’ve gotta tune in and watch. I can’t spoil it. With both of them, they have spent more time with each other and they’ve gotten to know each other and open up. People’s walls are starting to drop and they’re starting to be able to see each other’s side of things and actually talk. For a lot of people, communication is key. They’re not great at that, in the beginning. It’s about coming to an understanding with each other, throughout the season.

Sullivan’s Crossing airs on Wednesday nights on The CW.