Follower has seen multiple cast exits and still survived, but could more such shakeups be necessary?
Follower‘s executive producer Elwood Reid explains the cast changes and their impact on the show.
“What we realize is that there are characters that pop up and if it worked, we would bring them back,” he shared. We weekly. “I think the show can’t always do that. But when it does, the world feels a little more connected.”
For the Follower Team, the show’s sole mainstay is Justin Hartley’s fan-favorite fictional survivalist Colter Shaw, who travels far and wide to solve missing persons cases.
“The audience is leaning in because they’ve seen that character before. But I think they still think Colter is the central DNA of the show. What makes him appealing about this guy is that he’s a mystery to himself,” he noted.
“He is a mystery to the audience. We see him and his spare time piece together some pieces of his past,” Reid added.
As the show progressed, other cast members who made their mark included handlers Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma (Abby McEnany), hacker Bobby (Eric Graise) and lawyer Reenie (Fiona Rene).
However, Teddi’s character was written off and Bobby and Reenie did not appear in season 2 either.
Reid spoke about their disappearance in May, saying, “I think it evolves. If I can’t evolve those characters — Randy or Reenie or Bobby — they’re not just people who just pick up the phone and say, ‘Okay, here’s the answer.’ That’s when the show reports it. The challenge is when you learn more about it, which I found interesting. That’s the challenge of the show: not to make it formulaic.”
Follower Season 3 episodes stream every Sunday at 8pm ET on CBS and Paramount+.
