We Were Tomorrow is a sci-fi television series set in the fictional world of Aerawyn, which has been forcefully populated with humans, labeled Ancients, by angels who are known as Alchemists, after Earth and its moon are essentially destroyed by a meteor shower. These Ancients are tasked with rebuilding humanity over the course of three lifetimes. While a lot of them gladly accept this duty, some of them reject this responsibility and create unrest. During this turmoil, a villain rises, and his name is Cain. Fearing the worst, the Alchemists create a pathway for a pair of siblings, Evelyn and Noah Reeves, to traverse various timelines and save Aerawyn from destruction. I was lucky enough to have a virtual chat with the director, writer, creator, and one of the show’s lead, Madeleine Kennedy. And she has been gracious enough to unpack the themes of the We Were Tomorrow, her cinematic and TV influences, and whether or not a second season of the show is already on the horizon.
Disclaimer: Our editor has done slight touch-ups to make it a more concise read.
What was it like to conceptualize the series and bring it to the small screen? As an Indie project, what are some of the hurdles that you faced?
“This project has been one of my greatest honors and life lessons. It has been a labor of love that has evolved my craft and enabled me to showcase the capabilities that independent filmmakers in the sci-fi/fantasy genre are capable of. Sometimes a new maker like me comes up with a very unique idea that isn’t easily communicable to others because no one had seen before. It really becomes difficult to explain such a vision, and the best way a maker can visualize it is by themselves. The journey from conceptualization to the screen has been a really creative journey for me, which, to be honest, wasn’t an easy task. While filming the series, which spanned several continents, we faced a new hardship each day, but I guess that was also the fun part of it. The obstacles of filmmaking teaches you something new on every shoot, and it prepares you for much bigger battles in the future. As it is said, the learning process of creativity never really comes to an end. But I was grateful that along this journey, I got the chance to meet so many talented and hardworking artists from all over the world, and this project only came into being because of their support and companionship.”
As an Indie project, what are some of the hurdles that you faced?
“The show has an unapologetic, fiercely independent charm about it. Ours is not a multi-million-dollar budget by a fair margin. Most sci-fi or fantasy shows need financial backup to pull off such a vision, but even in the absence of such support, We Were Tomorrow boasts of crazy big ideas, with a lot of heart and pioneering ambition. I think most of the hurdles we experienced were expected, as they were due to have finite resources and ambitious goals, but the COVID pandemic and industry strikes set the show back in time, which was incredibly challenging at times. At the risk of repeating myself, this show has been quite a journey for each individual attached to it. We all had our ups and downs, and our passion for the show kept us united till the end. All the episodes are my love letters to the time I, and all the other artists, have given their precious time and talent to the process.”
The show is quite lore-heavy and deals with eras and timelines. How did you ensure that it satisfied genre fans while feeling new and original?
“It was important to me to establish elements of the lore, lifetimes, Cain’s curse, and the Alchemists incrementally over the episodes and through symbolism and easter eggs, not exposition-dump on the audience. By revealing the truths and twists in a contemporary narrative structure with outstanding practical FX/set designs/costumes, we have been able to refine the pacing of revelations, to influence the momentum of the epic story, and instill an authenticity to the heroes and antagonists’ motivations, that will excite and respect genre fans and new fans.”
The show shifts genres within an episode, from fantasy to western to sci-fi dystopia. How did you pull that off?
“With a lot of duct tape, safety pins and positive thinking!” [laughs] “I designed the three lifetimes to interweave throughout the episodes, acting as conduits for the different genres. The visual style, performance tones, and color grade of each lifetime were crucial to pulling off the transitions between times. Evelyn and Noah come across three different lifetimes, and to picture each lifetime in a different and unique setting, we have used different textures and color palettes. It creates a distinction between different times and different locations that we have portrayed in the show. Each episode expands on the scope of the story and scale of the world, growing the story from twin siblings in a rural, western town to unlikely heroes navigating a vast dystopian world on a quest against time and an immortal hunter. The tonal and genre shifts within episodes were designed to incrementally reveal more and more of Aerawyn, its lore, and the truth of the twins’ destiny.”
How did you find the right actors for the job? What was it like working with them?
“Aerawyn is fantastical, but the stakes of the world and fates of those trapped within it needed actors who could bring a gravitas in their performances not commonly associated with the sci-fi/fantasy genre. As filming would be done primarily in Australia, I wanted most of the cast to be exceptional, homegrown artists. The story snagged the passion of esteemed talent Gyton Grantley, Chai Hansen, Alicia Banit, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Lara Jean Marshall, and Desmond Chiam, as well as other talent and a new generation of actors across Australia and the US. Working alongside these skilled artists as a director and actor was transformative and inspiring. The entire cast are adventurous and compelling on screen and genuine, beautiful humans in reality. It has been an honor to bring We Were Tomorrow to life with them – especially as some performances are unlike anything fans have seen from these actors before!”
What are some of the challenges of directing a series and acting in it that you became aware of over the course of making the show?
“I think the freedom to switch between the creator and an actor on the show was both thrilling and exhausting. I love the versatility of working in front and behind the camera, as each side fulfills a different part of my artist, but the experience of making this show has really matured my perspective about wearing multiple hats. Over the course of filming, I tried to invest 100% into the overall vision for the show and 100% into my character, but there were times when I needed to prioritize the needs of the show over the preparation time I wanted as an actor. It left me feeling a little uncertain at times, with occasional spouts of imposter syndrome, but the incredible cast and crew supported me as I fought to bring this ambitious vision to life. The biggest lesson I have taken away is the value of scheduling time for myself as the actor before the cameras roll to make the transitions of hats seamless.”
Do you have a favorite scene in the series that you loved to shoot? And is there any scene from the show that was a nightmare to execute?
“One of the best scenes to film in Season 1 was a high-velocity and action-packed fight sequence in a mineshaft set. It is one of the main showdowns of the sixth episode finale, with some big reveals! We filmed the sequence over 2 days in a shed dressed as an old mine shaft, during the sweltering Aussie summer heat. Despite sweat and dust coating us like cement, the fight choreography was so much fun, and it remains one of my favorite scenes to film as a director and actor, but also to watch.”
“A nightmare…?” [laughs] “I think independent filmmaking is a beast unto itself, demanding you adapt and improvise to deliver creativity without the cost. A nightmare scene to film, which ended up being one of the show’s sexier moments on screen, is the stormy, garden rendezvous between Evelyn and Warrick (Johnny Brady) in episode 3. Without giving much away, the scene is set at nighttime in a rainstorm. We needed to simulate rain, but could not afford a rain machine, so we fashioned make-shift sprinklers to hoses and positioned crewmembers around the set to aim the hoses upward. Drenched in constant streams of freezing water, Johnny and I would conceal our shivers on camera, and then cling to boiling hot water bottles during the resets. The scene took several hours to film, was technically challenging to execute, but created one of the iconic snapshots of the lovers’ story in the first season of the show.”
What kind of thoughts & opinions, overall, would you want audiences to walk away with after watching ‘We Were Tomorrow‘?
“As a storyteller… We Were Tomorrow is an exhilarating, mysterious, and addictive race against time through three high-velocity lifetimes, with enigmatic characters, magic, and a curse. It is meant to entertain and provoke deeper, poignant thoughts about what it means to be human. I hope this show is a doorway for people to escape into a fantastical world where magic, heart, and originality are at the foundation. I would love for audiences to find themselves rewatching episodes to discover symbolic references and decipher their meanings. I am also eager to see what conversations are sparked from the social commentary woven throughout this season, especially in terms of the moral dilemmas and themes around paradise and humanity, freedom, duty vs self-preservation, and soul mates (romantic and platonic).”
“As the creator… I hope audiences and fans will watch We Were Tomorrow and become drawn to the renegade authenticity and fearlessness that we channeled to create this original, epic story. We Were Tomorrow champions innovation and thinking outside the box in the absence of studio or network financing. It rejects the limitations of what an independent genre project is expected to be and explores a world of vibrancy, texture, energy, subtlety, and emotional resonance through risk-taking. I hope audiences feel inspired to embrace their creative expression – whatever form that takes, and create their own art, unbridled by the idea that only industry juggernauts or people with money can make and share bold art.”
Are there plans for the second season?
“Absolutely! Season 1 is just a prologue for the world of Aerawyn. The first season builds up the main conflict of the world and the inner and outer conflicts of the characters in it. The things they are stealing with and what really the stakes are for them. I have already written an episodic breakdown, which might be further explored in the second and third installments of the show. Obviously, it’s just a skeleton, but I have a few ideas in my mind that I want to explore throughout the characters. Well, without giving out much, I just want to say that the first season is just the beginning, and viewers can expect a much more thrilling and engaging ride into the world of Aerawyn in the upcoming seasons.”
