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Sweet Unknown – Press Junket (Day One) 
On Friday, Sweet Unknown hosted its first press junket for the media to get further insight of the highly anticipated television series. The event hosted in New York City, New York, gave interviewers the chance to preview the first hour of the scheduled two-hour pilot episode of the show, premiering June 2nd on FX. Confirmed at the event was the show’s premiere date being pushed back a week, in a effort the network executives believe it gives more promotional opportunity for the cast to hype the show before its initial start.
The promotional schedule began today and it’s hitting the ground running. With the release of GirlSpice’s “Kiss Me”, last week taken from Sweet Unknown’s upcoming soundtrack, the song not only serves as the first taste from the girl group in nearly two years, in addition, it’s the first single off said soundtrack. Hernandez confirmed to the press that the show’s first season soundtrack will be released exclusively through North Hill Records, worldwide. The executives were praising last weekend’s appearance of GirlSpice on Saturday Night Live as the musical guests, specifically talking about Nadia Berry in-depth role in the show, both on and off screen, as well as Chantal Hayes guest arc later in the season.
The event featured the creator, lead writer, one of the executive producers, and stars of the show, Ryan Ross Hernandez, as well as fellow star and soundtrack contributor Arianna Harley. Inside a room specifically designed for the streamline of interviewers, Hernandez sat with professional lightening and cameras on him as he took every question thrown his way with each new press member, multiple times told from behind the camera by his publicist to speed up his answers, due to the singer-songwriter/actor’s obvious long-winded tendencies. Below is a video, just one of the many posted around the web today and more to be seen in the coming days, of Hernandez speaking candidly on the show with E! News contributing correspondent, Ryan Seacrest.
Ryan Seacrest: I must admit I was surprised when they told me you were doing press for Sweet Unknown. It seemed to me at least as if you were uncomfortable with doing interviews.
Ryan Ross Hernandez: Oh, I’m still very uncomfortable doing interviews. But it’s tough to say no when you’ve created the show and have a role in front of the camera as well. Other actors on the show will be doing press later, so hopefully this means I won’t have to talk as much.
Seacrest: Well today you and Arianna Harley are the only ones here doing press for the show, was that a decision already made that you and her were going to start off the press for the show?
RRH: It was discussed; we’ve had meetings in the past two months or so, seeing what we were going to do with the promotional handling of the show. It’s different than most television series since each of the main actors, their full-time careers are as musicians, first and foremost. So it’s very tough when that’s the case, plus having an ensemble made up of six actors, it makes it difficult to get us all in the same room to promote.
Seacrest: It makes sense, it makes sense. At least we have you here today, talking about Sweet Unknown, which we’ve seen a trailer, we’ve read about it, but today was the first time the reporters in the room were able to see a hour preview of the pilot for the show. I must say, being in that room watching, I thought it was fantastic.
RRH: Thank you. We worked fairly hard on the pilot, as on every episode, but I think we knew filming the pilot, that it meant that much more than any other episode, because it was going to be the first taste everyone would get of the show and base their decision on continuing to watch it or not, on that one episode. We felt the pressure and duty really with anyone taking their time to watch, that for that hour it would draw you in.
Seacrest: I think it accomplishes that goal. Your character, Matthew Hendricks, is definitely an interesting one.
RRH: [chuckles] That’s one way to put him, yes.
Seacrest: I wrote down some of the things he does during this first hour of the show that I’m not sure if I can say, but I feel people are still going to want to see this for themselves. He makes a little girl cry, he inappropriately flirts with his secretary, he engages in some quite raunchy sexual activity with a client during a business meeting. After seeing all of this, how would you describe him?
RRH: A lot of fucking fun, I’ll say that much. [chuckles] You know, when I say no character is either good or bad, I mean it. There isn’t any character where the audience watching the show has to feel the need to cheer that “hero” on, and then hate on the “ villain.” It’s not that kind of show. Each character does certain things that are good human acts, and some that aren’t. Matthew Hendricks, to me personally, is an introspective character. He could do terrible things, which he does, he certain goes through great lengths to get what he wants, be it if it hurts or affects other people. As a business person that’s the kind of attitude he has, he’s a vulture. But as a human being, people get the chance to maybe see a scene where he’s being very caring and loving to someone and think, “You know, he might be a dick when the suit is on, but behind it, he seems like a guy I want to have a beer with or something.”
Seacrest: Do you think with the general audience, that your character will be liked?
RRH: That very much depends on the viewer. It depends on the viewer’s personality, like that scene you spoke of about him making this little girl cry in a business meeting, that’s very much suppose to be a comedic scene. Some could call it dark comedy, but it’s really supposed to be taken as such. This character does bring a lot of humor to the table, but a certain kind of witty humor. I felt that the show needed that side of a smart comedy, which most of my favorite comedies have that attribute to them and I love that.
Seacrest: There is comedy to the show; I saw that in the preview without a doubt. I think most of the comedy in that hour was found with the interactions between your character and Arianna Harley’s character Autumn Snow.
RRH: Yeah, that pairing between my character and Arianna’s is a lot of fun. It’s explored a lot in the first season of the show. I believe in that first hour that you guys were able to see, you catch a quite humorous scene of us partaking in some marijuana smoking together. That was a fun scene to shoot.
Seacrest: Well it looked very fun as well. You guys weren’t really high, right? [laughs]
RRH: [chuckles] Unfortunately, no. We weren’t allowed to partake in any actual pot smoking on set.
Seacrest: An attribute though that I could connect between your character and you as a person, is that both of you are fond of single-malt scotch.
RRH: That’s correct, yeah. I can’t or at least I’m not allowed to drink as much scotch as I use to. After having a granuloma in my throat, then undergoing surgery, and then having botox injected through my neck into my throat. All that just kind of means I need to be really careful with what I put into my body that can affect my vocal chords.
Seacrest: I’ve heard about that, it’s good to have you back being able to speak and sing again. I heard you were silent for quite a few months there.
RRH: Yeah, I was silent on and off from pretty much September or October, into early January. I only started to use my voice more to its capabilities, just speaking wise, when we started filming Sweet Unknown. You can’t exactly film a show when you’re voice is limited to whispering or your vocal chords frozen that you can’t even make a noise if you wanted to.
Seacrest: That must have been a very frustrating time for you.
RRH: It was a period of my life that lasted way too long, and now I’m just ready to get out of it and move to the next phase in my life as both a musician and just a guy who’s 35 years old.
Seacrest: Does Sweet Unknown play a part in that next phase?
RRH: I’m not sure. I guess we’ll see if the first season is successful and lucky enough to be renewed for a second season, maybe it will. I wrote most of it during the time I was quiet, we actually had our final writers meeting last week where we wrapped up writing the season finale which we’re filming next month, so it hasn’t been a part of this next phase yet, but maybe it will be.
Seacrest: How many episodes does this season include?
RRH: Thirteen, the pilot counts as two episodes since its two hours.
Seacrest: Before we started this interview, your publicist, very nicely I must add, asked me to not ask you any questions about your personal life. I’m not gonna ask you about your personal life, but I will ask you about your fellow cast member, Nadia Berry.
RRH: [laughs] I see what you did there, Seacrest.
Seacrest: I just want to ask you how it’s been working with Nadia Berry on Sweet Unknown. Is there a special chemistry there?
RRH: [chuckles] It’s been fun working with Nadia.
Seacrest: She was just starring in Scary Movie 5, have you seen it?
RRH: No, no I haven’t. But I’m sure it’s funny. She’s a fun girl.
Seacrest: She is a fun girl, I’ve seen it and it’s really funny. Have you spent a lot of time with her on or around set?
RRH: No, actually. [chuckles] I think I may have been hanging out with Arianna and Isabel more so than, Nadia.
Seacrest: Well I have another question related to the leading ladies of the show. There is a great cast there of young, talented young ladies…
RRH: Then there’s Issac Lovelock and I. [laughs]
Seacrest: [chuckles] Yes, of course. But the girls on the show definitely play a major part of the show. You have a cast of Nadia Berry, Isabel Mejores, Arianna Harley, and Cristina Lake.
RRH: All four girls play a major part. I feel like sometimes the show is just so much more focused on them. They all play a part in most of the storylines within the show. I know what’s been showcased so far might be the pairings. You have my character and Emma Moore, Nadia’s character. My character and Arianna Harley’s character have a dynamic there, as you said before, that’s really fun. Nadia Berry’s character and Isabel’s have that kind of mentor-mentee connection there. Lovelock is a business partner with Arianna Harley’s character in the whole drug dealing business. Cristina Lake and my character have quite a few scenes together.
Seacrest: Maybe I’m making the wrong assumption here, but after watching an hour of the show, I get the feeling that your character ends up, at point or another, hooking up with all the leading ladies in the show.
RRH: [laughs] Does it really come off like that?
Seacrest: I’m just basing my opinion on what I see. Your character seems to be close with all four women in extent or another.
RRH: But that doesn’t necessarily mean my character ends up having sexual intercourse with them all, right?
Seacrest: Maybe not, I’m just asking you.
RRH: I’ll just say that my character, does know how to charm. He has a way with women that usually end up with him getting what he wants, whether that’s sexual or otherwise.
Seacrest: That reminds me of, at least in the charming, of someone I know.
RRH: Just stop right there, Seacrest. [chuckles]
Seacrest: Alright, let’s talk a little about the soundtrack before we wrap this up. The soundtrack features some pretty big names in music, but the most intriguing song in my opinion is the song you did with Arianna of Hey Lolita, and obviously fellow co-star.
RRH: I might be bias because I’m on that song, but Arianna has one of those voices in music that sticks with you. And you don’t get too many Arianna Harley’s every decade, so I see her being around for a really long time. It was an honor to work with her and compose that song together. I really think something just clicked and our chemistry matched as musicians in the studio. I’d love to work with her again in the future. She's a lovely person. Have you met her yet?
Seacrest: No, I haven't yet, but after this interview I do hope to speak with her too.
RRH: You're gonna like her, she's a cool girl.
Seacrest: Now your publicist is cuing us to end this interview. One last question that I want to ask you though.
RRH: Go ahead, I'll be here all day anyways, I don't care.
Seacrest: There is obviously a lot riding on your back for Sweet Unknown to be a success. You created it, you're starring in it, you're a writer for it, producer, a subdivision was created within your record label to fund some the production costs for this series. Do you feel any pressure at all for this show being a success and being watched on a weekly basis by audiences?
RRH: Personally I don't feel any pressure, because this isn't my day job. It's not what I do on a daily basis. I've invested a lot of time and effort and financials for this project to get off the ground and running. But to say that I feel pressure to have this show be a success would be inaccurate. I consider this a hobby, a really expensive hobby, and a hobby that many people on this show even, behind the scenes and in front, consider their day jobs. So obviously I would like to see this show go on and do well enough that everyone can return for a season two next year, but I won't be bashing my head in thinking what I could have done to make it better if we don't get renewed. I feel confident that we're already putting out the best, and most entertaining program we can. After we film the season finale next week, I hope everyone involved in Sweet Unknown, will go home with the same sense that I will. We each made the greatest individual efforts with whatever our task was. After next week, it's up to the viewers to decide whether they like it or not. Whether it was one of the many actors and actresses you see on screen, or the producers, or the cameramen, or any other personnel on set, everyone did a fantastic job with what they had in their hands. We'll see in a few months what happens, but for now, I think I speak for all of those amazing people that worked on the show, we just want to have it premiere already.
Seacrest: Ryan, thank you for the time, it's always a pleasure to speak with you. Best of luck with the show, upcoming tour, and any other project you might be plotting in your head already.
RRH: No problem, thank you. |
