‘Paradise Lost’ star Gail Bean says religiousness of the Deep South plays into the show’s supernatural element
Spectrum TV’s new series ‘Paradise Lost’ is a Southern gothic mystery drama set in Mississippi. The show follows Josh Hartnett and Bridget Regan’s characters as they move from California to a small town in Mississippi where they uncover a mystery. Gail Bean plays the role of Gynnifer Green on the show.
Speaking to MEA WorldWide’s (MEAWW) Sam Davidson from her home in Atlanta, Bean shared how she got interested in playing the part, the base plot of the show, and also dropped the details on the supporting characters that will be seen on the series. She also spoke about the dynamics of race relations and politics to be seen on the show, the use of religion and the supernatural elements on the show, and whether they got spooked at all while shooting some of the eerie scenes.
On being asked what she loves about her character on the show, Bean said, “I love that she was just this southern belle and she’s been through so much, but it wasn't really about her past. It was more so about her maturing and really trying to figure out her future. My parents are from a small country town in Georgia -- Cagney County, Georgia… It reminded me a lot of my mother's story growing up. Because Gynnifer had tragic events happen when she was two. And in my life personally, my mother lost her sister. Her sister drowned along with a couple of her cousins when she was a little girl, and she named me after, her sister's name is Gail."
She further said, “So much of that just resonated with me because it's the deep south. It's like a visceral truth of the deep south and some of the secrets that are, we didn't throw out of it and their way of life and how some people choose to escape or not acknowledge the past but try to just bury it and continue on as if normal. So, many things about her attracted me to the role.”
Talking further about the south and how race comes into play in the show, Bean said, “So it's race and it is class. With the south, it is more like everybody kind of knows their place and you just don't get out of it. So you have me and Curtis for example. With him being my boyfriend and possibly the father of my child. I know that race, even though we're in 2020, race is still an issue and you know, I'm even afraid to tell my sister and Teeny (Deja Dee) that I've been intimate with the white guy because I don't want to be judged or looked at, and I know they're not going to, I already know they're not going to accept that. "
“So it's not a thing of racism where you don't necessarily like another race, but it's more like, ‘Okay, we're staying separated, like we're not going to mix in certain things. You just are not going to mix like when it comes to business when it comes to your bed."
She also added, "But you see, when you see uncle Ronny and the judge knew each other, and obviously there's something there back in the day. So, the fact that uncle Ronnie went to jail, I think that the race card may play when they actually, possibly in season 2, get into that story and we see what really happened and what all the judge knew what all the judge did, what uncle Ronny decided, ‘Okay, I'm going to take the rap for this’. I think it falls on the fact that he's black.”
From the subject of race in the deep south to the topic of a supernatural element that lurks around, Bean said, “So here's the thing we're very big on in the South, we're very big on religion and there is a line, there's a moment when Francis and Jennifer are at the tracks. And I said, ‘So, you don't believe in God?’ and she's like, no. And I said, ‘I had never met anybody like you before’ ... what they're touching the surface of is that in the South, you do believe there is a strong religion and strong faith and a strong belief system, whether it be Christianity or something else, and the supernatural powers that be, or whatever it is, the mind control that Janus has over people.”
She added, “Francis comes into this town and this is someone who she's like, no, I don't believe in that stuff. Like I believe in science and physical things that have proof. So you had this eerie overline feeling of, ‘Okay, all of these things are happening. There has to be a reason’. And it's like Francis is trying to find the reason as opposed to everybody there has just gone off of -- It's a deeper meaning like it's a spirit. It's a fade.”
Talking about the creepy scene at the train tracks, Bean said, “I screamed watching it!” She said that even while shooting the scene, it was quite scary. But she explained, “The final cut is way different than what we shot because originally it was Shane McRae who plays Dickie who has these dogs and they come up and the dogs come up sniffing at me and barking at me first.”
“And he's like, ‘Are you holding or something?’ But they were like, okay, let's not do overkill with the dogs at the black people because we already got the dog chasing Danielle,” she further added. “We already in the South, we don't want to overkill with dogs and black people. It's just too much. We don't want to keep projecting that image, which I'm really grateful that they were able to say, be mindful.”
Bean continued, "But it was definitely scary when we shot it. And I think there's this myth that somebody died there, like in real life. So that was another like, ‘Oh, whoa’. And then while we were out there trying to shoot, it started raining and thunder and lightning. So we had to break for a few hours.”
All episodes of 'Paradise Lost' are available for viewing on Spectrum TV.