In this day and age, in this, the darkest timeline, time seems to move… differently than it used to. Days feel longer, years feel endless, there are three apocalypses (apocalypsi?) in a week then you realize it’s only Tuesday. So yesterday when the Emmy nominations were announced, and Tatiana Maslany was nominated for last summer’s final season of Orphan Black, I was genuinely surprised. Not only because genre shows (and multi-cam comedies APPARENTLY) rarely get their due (#JusticeforScrofano) at awards shows, but also because the series finale of Orphan Black felt like it aired three lifetimes ago — instead of 11 months ago!
All this to say, one of the many reasons I know Wynonna Earp is special is because despite having a longer-than-some hiatus due to it being a 12-episode season in the summer with no breaks, the show is somehow always on the tips of everyone’s tongues. Especially this year, as bigger news outlets have started picking up on the Season Three buzz, it seemed that every other week some new story or casting news or panel was coming out from the actors and creators, and all that ramped up to what seems like hourly content — or, more accurately, hourly teasing from showrunner Emily Andras adding up to content. We’ve seen trailers and teasers dropping left and right, and today a very special announcement. But we’ll get to that in the second.
First I want to take a moment with those of you who are reading this and haven’t watched the show yet. I’m going to give you my elevator pitch and then direct you to Netflix, where you can watch Seasons One and Two — before Season Three starts if you’re dedicated.
Wynonna Earp is a show about a 20-something woman with some emotional baggage and a curse to bear. She’s the heir to a demon-hunting gun and has a penchant for whiskey and she’s on a mission to kill all of the Revenants (the regenerating demons made from the bodies and sometimes even souls of anyone killed by the legendary Wyatt Earp, Wynonna’s great-great-grandfather) that lurk around the Ghost River Triangle. Wynonna is joined on her mission by her bisexual baby sister, Waverly; Nicole Haught, hot cop and Waverly’s girlfriend; the legendary Doc Holliday; Agent Dolls, the sexy head of a secret organization that recruits Wynonna; Jeremy the gay geek and Doc fanboy; and a whole rove of friends and enemies that come and go.
The show is about figuring out who you are and your role in this world, even when external forces are trying to thrust their own opinions about you and your life onto you. It’s about Wynonna’s relationships — not re: dating, though that’s certainly part of it — with her family, blood and chosen. At the heart of it is Wynonna and Waverly’s relationship, their sisterly bond remaining the emotional thread through every storyline; it’s never broken no matter what else is going on. Plus, the show is funny as hell. It’s brilliantly written and stunningly acted and watching each episode once just isn’t enough to catch it all. Also the music is PERFECT. Did I mention it was gay? (And will continue to be gay.)
She bangs, she bangs! (She HAS bangs, get your head out of the gutter.)
Here’s what I can tell you about the premiere because I’ve seen it: It’s everything you love about this show and more. It felt like going back to camp after a school year away, seeing all your friends again and somehow everyone looks cuter even though they were already pretty darn cute to begin with. One quip and one good laugh and suddenly it’s like no time has passed at all. But there are new adventures to be had and camp is in a new place now and so while you’re feeling comfortable with the people you know there are new things to explore, new demons to fight. (Hm. I’m mixing my metaphors a bit but you know what I mean.)
Other things we know about this season based on trailers and teasers include but are not limited to:
There will be a mechanical bull!
This season will be gay af!
There’s a new gal in town named Kate and she’s rull pretty!
I don’t need tarot cards to know I’ll like her.
Also apparently a good guy? (Though we thought that about a certain someone in Season Two…)
“We is the team.”
TIME JUMP! (about 4 months have passed since S2)
Potato licking!
Zoie Palmer!
Anna Silk!
A bigger, badder big bad!
And I have a feeling that’s all just the tip of the iceberg.
Oh and PS everything you know is wrong. I can tell you from personal experience that at least two theories I spent the hiatus coddling and feeding were proven wrong in just the first episode. I love when a show is smarter than me, and holy crumpets is this show smart. And sexy. So sexy.
As these two will tell you, the only thing better than dynamite is boobs.
Episode 301, “Blood Red and Going Down,” will have a special preview airing in the US on SyFy on Monday, July 16th at 11PM EST, and the official premiere will be Friday the 20th in its new regular time slot, 9PM EST. The folks at Wynonna Earp are nothing but generous to their fans, often crediting them for the Season Three renewal, because while it may have had lower ratings than some of its Syfy peers, Earpers show UP on social media. Further proof of this came in the form of today’s announcement that text message conversations between the characters of the Earpverse will be released on a storytelling app called Yarn. A few are already up, and a new one will be dropping every day until the official premiere on Friday. This is not unprecedented; last season, a companion site to the show launched that followed one of Nicole Haught’s cases with the Purgatory Police Department.
The creative team hasn’t just created a story we see once a week in the summer on our TV screens. They’ve created a whole universe, an experience. They’ve created a community.
And it’s almost time for another block party. I’ll see you here Tuesday for my 301 recap, and then every Saturday after that until we run out of episodes!
P.S.
#WynonnaEarp WayHaught Bedroom Scene from #301….see the rest on Monday! https://t.co/AdFPlJTPjW
— Emily Andras (@emtothea) July 13, 2018
I am STOKED!!! Not least because one of my best, oldest friends got hired to do stunts for a few episodes this season, including doubling Wynonna! I expect to have to rewatch those episodes because I will just spend most of them screaming “THAT’S ANA’S BACK!” at my TV
So I have a huge problem here… The premier is monday at 11pm EDT, that’s 10pm where I am. My girlfriend will not want to stay up that late.
You’re going to recap it on Tuesday, Naturally I can’t be expected to have the willpower to not read that recap.
So I have to watch it on monday, and I have to make sure she doesn’t find out I watch it! Thanks, Autostraddle, you and the SyFy (god I still hate that name) Channel just made me lie to my girlfriend.
IT’S FOR A GOOD CAUSE THOUGH
I hope Comcast puts 301 OnDemand on Tuesday because there is no way I can stay up until midnight on a work night, not even for Wynonna :(
Is Waverly bi though?
That’s a debate that goes through my mind.
Waverly is what she needs us to be.
Yup, Dominique said Waverly was bi (though honestly worrying about bigger things right now and a little busy being in love with Nicole) in this here panel: http://bit.ly/2LddPaK
*mouth is agape* See I’ve only watched the show and watch panels.
Obviously I need to get my life.
It’s stupid but I do a lot of analyzing on Waverly’s sexuality because her storyline really resonates with my life.
I am beyond EXCITED! I need my WayHaught fix! Wynonna-being-a-badass fix, and my just-in-general-Doc fix!
I’m also interested in seeing Megan Follows as Mamma Earp.
With Wynonna Earp it’s like you think ok, this just can’t get any gayer… and then it does.
BTW I finally get to meet Kat, Dom and Melanie in Barcelona and they are simply the best people ever. So just go and watch it y’all.
Also when I saw that Tatiana Maslany got Emmy nomination for Orphan Black I honestly thought WTF, It’s been ages since the finale?!
so ready! i love so many shows currently airing, but a funny/dramatic/campy genre show is hard to come by. i’m so glad wynonna earp is back. :)
I swear TPTB know when I am having a shitty day and have been dropping BTS and sneak peeks and trailers and WayHaught clips and this amazing Yarn thing when I needed it most.
I read the Yarn messages which were pretty cool. It’s important to note to not post them online because every download is another number for SYFY to factor in making a season 4+ decision.
Speaking of the season 4 renewal, I mean its gotta be in the bag now with all the major magazines and the freaking NY Times getting in on the action, right? I mean the publicity this show is getting now for season 3 compared to the crumbs they publicized the show with season 1 (and even season 2) is like quadrupled.
In addition to the Yarn messages, I really hope for a new Purgatory Sheriff’s blog like last season. But if I’m being honest, I really didn’t care so much about the case as I wanted to see video chats etc between WayHaught. I liked Nicole’s tumblr from season 1 too. Like let the main show take care of the mystery and all that and let the side project be like additional fun WayHaught moments.
SUPER EXCITED FOR SEASON 3!!!!
I love Wynonna Earp Yarn message stories so far, but I hope they release them all before my free trial ends.
I love the concept of yarn but hate the app. There aren’t enough stories to justify the subscription prices, the navigation is terrible, and I tried the one other story that looked like it had a queer storyline and it turned out to be a REALLY gross predatory lesbian trope. I’m not giving that app good money I could give to Autostraddle instead.
The concept is great but they could have hosted it on a free Tumblr site like they did in season 1. I would pay money for additional content but as you said the price for Yarn after the trial period is over is way too much. Plus the UX/UI of the app is terrible. I can’t even find my account settings to cancel it when I want to.
On twitter they explained that the page they created for the stories between S1/2 was paid for my a Canadian gov’t grant program. I appreciate them wanting to pay writers/developers! BUT… hope they consider another option for next year. I bet a crowdfunding to pay the writers and a fan hackathon to make a site would work with this fandom. But I also get that they have enough on their plate and getting an app to deal with it has a lot of perks. I just wish I didn’t hate the app so much. Le sigh.
Anyway, my real point here was just to let @cyclone know that you can unsubscribe from the subscriptions page in the google play store.
@cyclone hopefully the ratings will not drop from season 2 because at the end of the day, we still need good ratings for the show.
Any word on whether the premiere will be available on Amazon Prime early? Like Diana, I won’t be able to wait to read your sure-to-be amazeballs recap of the episode.
My elevator pitch for this show: It’s like a mix of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Jessica Jones, but 112% gayer. Also more cowboy boots.
Me sat here wondering why I haven’t seen half the promo stuff and then remembering that I live in the UK and it’s all location locked. Poops.
Yeah, I’m with you, it’s a pain getting everything later than the US.