‘Orphan Black’ Director on Series’ Origins, Season 2

The second season of BBC America’s drama series “Orphan Black” is fast approaching, but new details about the show’s origins have been revealed that surprise even the most devout #CloneClub member.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the clone thriller, which centers on (supposed) grafter Sarah who discovers she is part of a group of clones in a scientific experiment, has roots dating back to a 2001 Canadian TV movie called “Lucky Girl.” While working on that project, director John Fawcett was impressed by Graeme Manson’s rewrite of his script and decided that the two should work together. At the time, Fawcett had a title — “Orphan Black” — but no story.

“It’s funny, because clone is the first idea that pops into your head and you think, ‘that’s too dumb. We’ve got to come up with something else.’ But we kept coming back to clones. And eventually you get comfortable with that, and we started to try to work out the story in a two-and-a-half-hour format, which proved to be pretty difficult,” Fawcett told the mag.

The project was shelved until 2007 when Manson suggested they turn “Orphan Black” into a TV series.

After working with Tatiana Maslany on the werewolf film “Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed” in 2003, Fawcett cast her as Sarah.

What can fans look forward to next month when season two premieres?

“We want to expand the world,” Fawcett said. “We want to make the show a little bigger, make the show a little badder, make the show a little more off-center. There are more rabbit holes to go into.”

The second season of “Orphan Black” premieres April 19.

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