Now that season 3 is midway through its run were going to sit down with the writers behind Blissful to get some scoop on that big death, Dimitri’s murder wrap up, Skye’s OD, the Summit party, new alliances and what is coming up.
Let’s start with the big one: is Lowell really dead?
Chris: Yup Lowell Devonshire has truly bit the bullet. This isn’t a stunt or a game. We’ve known since season 1 that Lowell would die from a stroke and this moment alters the series forever. It’s our big game changer and nothing will be the same. Not to sound cheesy but our central figure is gone. This will push people to act in ways they never have. This will push people to attack in ways that you haven’t seen before. Expect new alliances, rivalries, and even some fresh romances to bloom from Lowell’s death. Things are different in Atlas Falls.
Kelly: Lowell is dead, period end of story well not really the story really just takes off from here. I think part of what writers fear sometimes is killing a central matriarch we’ve always said no one is safe on Blissful and that includes the great Lowell Devonshire and the many options this opens up on the canvas. We knew from the beginning of season one that Lowell would die either from his illness or another way. When I planned season 3 I went into it knowing that Lowell would die but I wanted the twist to be because of a stroke versus his actual illness taking him out. I love how much this shapes the canvas going forward as a passing of the mantle story as well for all the Devonshire siblings.
What is up with Dru and her connections to all these men? She has Philip, Zerick, on and off Ronan and it looks like Lex now too? Moreso with Lex and Dru plotting against Jackson and Dani, could other sparks fly instead?
Kelly: What I love about Dru is she truly is a vixen in this story as we’ve said she has to do some unthinkable things when it comes to her siblings and her revenge on Walter and Brenda. If she didn’t where is the fun in that? Gaslighting Dani with Lex is simply a means to an end for her and trying to seduce Jackson. Plus she has all these men at her beck and call which is fun. I think Dru sometimes doesn’t even know what she really wants, so playing that with Zerick is a really fun angle that I am enjoying getting to explore.
Chris: Well what can I say about Dru besides the men folk in Atlas Falls love her. As everyone knows Dru is secretly Kendall aka Walter and Brenda’s long lost child. She is dangerous and is playing the biggest game on canvas besides Charles. To be honest Dru reign of terror has only begun and I pray for Kelly because she has her hands full with our fans. Jackson knows she’s trouble but he’s between a rock and hard place which will lead to him possibly falling on his own sword. While Dru might manipulate everything to get her happy ending she might end up just as unhappy as she is now.
Kristi: I love Dru and her harem of men. Lex has his eye on the prize, which for him is Dani, of course but he’s not opposed to taking the scenic route to get to his destination. He knows he’ll have to settle down when he gets her back but he’s not really in a place where that appeals to him. Dru’s hot and he’s single. He knows she’s using him at the moment and he likes it. She’s not going to be asking for anything he doesn’t want to give. He doesn’t care what she does or how she achieves her goals, as long as she doesn’t interfere with his objective. With Charles on him all the time, she’s a fun distraction but who knows what might come out of that in the future. Lex is prone to acting without thinking things through first. He also has this fun rivalry with Jackson and now Hunter that’s at least partially driven by his connection to Dru.
Is Tess really going to snatch DGI from the Devonshire siblings and rob Jackson of being CEO? Plus her and Pierre working together smells like more trouble?
Chris: From the moment Tess returned we knew this was going to happen. Tess is pulling the ultimate power move. So to answer your question right now DGI belongs to Tess not the Devonshire siblings. She’s about to become the most powerful woman in Atlas Falls which is truly saying something. I have played Tess for two years as almost down and out. Someone who hasn’t won and this moment is a big win for her. She’s taking Jackie’s children’s legacy and finally beating Jackie it’s something she’s always wanted and she’s honestly reveling in it.
Now that we see Gia is clearly a dangerous foe to be reckoned with when it comes to the business and now Max does she go even further?
Kelly: I’m for sure gonna let Kristi and Scott handle this one! We found two amazing writers to take over this story and the depths to this rivalry and I can’t even do it justice.
Chris: I first want to give an immediate shout out to our two new writers Scott and Kristi. They’ve jumped into the team full force full of vigor. I am excited for them and fans to see their interpretations of these characters. However Gia has been reborn in Kristi hands and the character is not only dangerous but completely in control but out of control if that makes any sense. You will see this rivalry with Max and Gia become the central focus toward the end of the season. These two are on a collision course and maybe someone doesn’t make it out?
Scott: Max has no fear, yet has nothing but fear at the same time, and it’s a collision course that would result in any number of results. At this point, the way I see it for Max: she won’t believe anything anyone says to her until the meteorite has crashed right into earth and, even then, I don’t think it’ll sink in for her. She is strong-willed and I do believe she will put up a steadfast fight. Max’s passion for DGI is what drives her, as a way of honoring her father and the history the company has within the family. And she believes now is not the time to back down, no matter the potential consequence ahead.
Kristi: Gia will go to the ends of the earth for something she wants and with psycho Hector at her beck and call, she has a good chance of getting it. Sebastian tried to warn Max off but she doesn’t seem to be all that concerned. She should have been more diplomatic at the Summit because she poked the bear, for sure. Gia has lost control of Ronan (if she ever really had any) which puts her in a precarious position. She can’t afford to lose anything else right now.
Max seems in a new place which is exciting, how does Lowell’s death affect her going forward. It looks like past wounds with both Bliss and Belle are festering and could affect her and Sebastian?
Chris: As I’ve said I really want to thank and give a warm welcome to our two new writers. Scott is an immensely talented writer who also has breathed new life into Max. This version is the eldest sister who is ruling her kingdom with an iron fist! Scott plays Max in the layers of a brat, a bitch, and a woman suffering an unimaginable loss in her father. Now Max and Bliss have buried the hatchet but with Tess moving against the family it will cause strife also Max hates Belle at the moment. So you may see the Devonshire sisters at odds and oddly the brothers banding together. As for Sebastian and Max you see the cracks but let’s just say by the end of the season it could be shattered.
Scott: From my point of view, there is this multi-layered part of Max that can either be pulled back piece by piece, or it could be stripped completely back with a lot of vulnerable bits. Losing Lowell changes everything for Max, whether she believes it or not. But she is using her hatred of Belle to cover up those feelings, and it very well may be a diversion to avoid facing things that are right in front of her face. Plus, she’s pregnant and I think, for her, she doesn’t want to be put into this position of a woman who’s pregnant. She’s playing in the field of “if a man can keep working, then so can I,” despite those around her stating otherwise. It s a real complex situation that got real complicated by the loss of Lowell.
Bliss has got her family back now that Hunter is out of jail. How will she handle being stuck between her loyalty for her siblings vs. her mother at DGI?
Kelly: Hunter falling on the sword for Bliss was one of the funnest beats for me to explore and write this season. Hunter has always been such a stand up guy and the revelation about his father thanks to Dru really alters his course on the show. In some ways his confessing to killing Dimitri was in his mind a way to pay penance for his father’s past and he really didn’t think it through or how it would affect Bliss. So for Hunter he has always been loyal to the Devonshire’s mainly Lowell and Jackie so in this role he is there to support Bliss in her new role in her family and I think that can lead to new and different dynamics for them to explore together.
Chris: Oh this is my favorite part of Tess taking over DGI story. Bliss is in a rock and hard place but the fun is Bliss might shock every last person. Let’s just say Bliss is a Devonshire and won’t appreciate her mother’s stunt. This will show Bliss in a new light. Some fun things are in store for our favorite poor little rich girl. Also don’t forget Lowell went to Jon and confessed he killed Dimitri which could complicate a lot for Hunter. It’s a seesaw because one moment Bliss might be up and the next she might lose everything she’s worked for in her new life.
The next big question is Gloria is alive and well, so many fans didn’t see that coming at all! When will her children learn the truth?
Chris: Motherfucking Gloria! This character was always also slated to come back. We figured out Gloria was the catalyst of the men(Walter, Lowell, Pierre, Harvey, and Forbes) crumbling. Once we figured that out it was like well she dead and Kelly was like is she? I was like can I play her? This character is the black bitch fans have been waiting on. My take on a black woman who is smarter than most in the room but the color of her skin blocked her. She is well rounded woman and more than her sassy one-liners she has a story. As for when her kids will learn the truth it’s unraveling in Selina’s storyline currently and it’s going to take a little longer. But expect fireworks because Selina will not appreciate her mother’s manipulations and Mason might not be too keen to let her back in after leaving them in the first place.
Kelly: I remember when we talked about this years ago about whether or not Gloria was alive or not there was so much mystery about what and how the coop at DGI happened with Lowell and the men in his life and his ex best friend. Gloria’s death was always shrouded in mystery too so when I was like or is she really not dead? It just jumped out, that was the angle we needed to go. I actually really hate back from the dead stories unless they are done really well and in this case we’ve carefully crafted why Gloria left and her return. It also gives the Delacrix family their own wings so to speak, for instance would BA Energy ever have happened if Gloria stayed at Lowell’s side? Probably not, so she saw an out for herself and her children long term and took it. The juice is if her children want to accept what she did in the past and present in order to achieve that and I love how it plays out all with Selina this season and her relationship with Elliot too.
Walter made a deal with Charles to get Hunter out of jail for Brenda, the audience can tell there are many layers to Charles. Do you think he will regret this deal?
Kelly: Does Walter ever regret anything he ever does? Ha ha probably not he is way too prideful for that to happen or ever admit that someone pulled something over him. For Walter this season it is about how far he is willing to go with Brenda, the woman he has always loved and how he puts her first in many ways. What is fun is that Walter is the leader of his family and by the end of the season he has to tow that line even further between them and his past with Brenda. Charles is dangerous but he had been so hurt by Lowell I think he was willing to just pick a new best friend and that will eventually probably cost him the most of all his mistakes.
Chris: I like to call this the deal with the devil you thought you knew. Charles is going to come harder and harder to get what he wants now that Walter is in his pocket. This is another long story that will play out for years to come. I’m excited to see what fans think of Charles showing Walter he is a pion in the game of chess. Just a soldier for him to send to war and how Walter will combat the deal that changes his life.
Jon just confessed Skye was his one, Skye’s OD left readers shaking, was her exit intentional and what does it mean for her and Jon?
Chris: Man this was the hardest thing to write for me beside Lowell’s death. Jon is our tragic hero who can’t catch a break. Him finally figuring out Skye was the one as she left well that’s just Jon’s luck. He deserves it for how he treated her. It means to me at this very moment they are over because Skye is officially gone. Charles paid her off because of his nefarious connections to the B-Agency. If you were lucky to read the first Blissful you may remember what this agency is and how vital it was. Well look for it to roar its ugly head again. Look for Jon to find a future with an unexpected person on canvas.
Kelly: For now Skye is gone but she is never gone gone, she is alive just off canvas for now. Her connection to Charles was what sent her away this time, if Charles wasn’t breathing down her neck and threatening to kill Jon and Merci she would have stayed to work things out with Jon. I knew from the beginning that Skye was going to relapse and it would lead to her exit for now, not to say she can’t ever come back. There is still plenty of unresolved things she and Jon need to discuss and work through but for now her exit needed to happen. In a lot of ways this allows them to grow both as people and work on themselves while healing and going forward. Plus like Chris said it really pushes Jon even more and closer to an unexpected person on canvas.
Jackson and Dani still seem to be at odds with each other thanks to Dru manipulating things with Lex by her side. Is there any hope for them this season?
Kelly: When I went into 3 I really wanted to test them as a couple sure we had them deal with some of Jackson’s past in last few seasons but with Lex coming it was the perfect time for us to explore Dani’s. They are brand new parents, both working full time trying to balance running DGI, and hired unknown to them the nanny from hell. Sometimes you forget what is important in that jumble and at the beginning of the season they did lose sight of that. What is the fun here is do they decide to put in the work to self correct or carry on as it is to self destruct more? Not everything is easy for any couple especially when you have outside forces working tirelessly against you. But like Chris said there is always hope for these two.
Chris: Jackson and Dani are going through the drama of the first year of marriage but what Dru is doing to them will test the relationship deeply. There is always hope but right now they are in a dark place where their trust is broken between each other. Jackson feels like Dani is leaning into Lex while the rumors and innuendos about Dru will challenge Dani. This will lead to them possibly losing what they’ve built. However there is always hope!
Greer seems to be realizing that Brock wants and expects her to quit her job and she gave up a lot when she walked from Chauncey. Lauren seems dead set against this wedding happening, plus Chauncey is with Nat for show. Is he ever gonna learn the truth about the baby?
Chris: Well Greer isn’t a domesticated woman. Something I think fans can see that Brock wants. She however is always after more power and status. That’s Greer’s character and even though she does care and in her own way love Brock, what he’s offering her isn’t enough. Lauren however has dealt with the LeClerq family for years. She knows when they are in love and she doesn’t see it between Greer and Brock. She will see it with Greer and Chauncey which is fun. On the flip side Chauncey was betrayed by Greer when she exposed their plan. So his trust and faith in her isn’t there but we all know Greer and Chauncey belong together even if they don’t. So how do I say this without spoiling this story. Chauncey has a long way to go before he finds out the baby she’s carrying is his. In my opinion they are on their way to finding each other again.
Kelly: When everyone in your family tells you that you picked the wrong person to marry you should probably listen to them and that is where Brock is right now. He chose to want to be with Greer and part of it is he needs to learn to accept who she really is for them to make it. It’s fun for me as a writer because he and Chauncey are so different they want and admire different things about Greer. Chauncey really hurt her when he turned his back on her in Devonshire fashion but it’s because he is trying to prove his place this season after being passed over. He is hell bent on making his marriage to Natasha work to keep DGI afloat and to show the board he is capable but he sacrificed the woman he loves on that altar. Things happen at the end of the season that really amp up this story even more is all I will say and Cheer fans are in for a fun ride against the Breer fans!
With Aspen second guessing her relationship with Rory, Yasmine moving forward with Jayden, and Jamal heading toward Belle? What’s happening with the YA on Blissful for the rest of the season?
Kelly: Rory for sure is in the headspace of forgetting everything that happened with Yasmine to move forward with Aspen even though he knows that is what he doesn’t really want. I think for sure Aspen got in over he damned head and can’t see a way out especially since her miscarriage, meanwhile Yasmine in some ways is moving on too. Khalil is interesting to play in the scenario because I think deep down he is the only one with his heads screwed on right being like wait hold the hell up what are we doing with both Yasmine and Aspen. He is really the only sensible one in it all and questioning his career too this season which is fun, while figuring out if he has real feelings for Aspen or not. I can’t wait for readers to know more about Jayden too which will be fun so I won’t say more going forward. Belle wanted her big love that epic love and whose to say that it may of been here all along with Jamal?
Chris: The young adults are scrambling in my opinion to find their place in Atlas Falls. Aspen is dying to figure out what is next for her and Rory. While also starting to face being a socialite isn’t as fulfilling as she thought. Rory is holding back his true emotions and feelings for Yasmine While trying to fight against Tess taking RePlay right from his hands. Yasmine is moving forward without Rory but will face dancing isn’t her future and she may have to find a new dream being a Montgomery. Jayden isn’t who he seems and his secrets will slowly unravel also. He’s after more than chief of staff that’s for sure. The bright spot is Khalil who honestly wants the best for Yasmine and Aspen. Not only that you are seeing the beginning of a relationship blooming with Belle and Jamal. They are a special pairing and we invoke something fresh and new for them both. Belle told him she wanted a big love and that’s what she just maybe getting.
The mystery of Victoria’s death seems to be unraveling what can you tell us what happened?
Chris: Victoria is and always will be the thing that ruined Walter and Lauren. They were on a path of falling in love again but when she died Walter fell prey to Brenda once again. This story will continue to play out but you will figure out what happened by the end of the season. I can say that Forbes and the Montgomery clan will be front and center in this story as they all try to keep the truth from being revealed. Randall who is dangerously close to figuring everything out will find his life in mortal danger and Victoria secret could and could be buried once again.
Kelly: Oh man, Vicky even though she is gone has been heavily placed throughout the season I feel like we’ve explored Devonshire secrets with Belle and Bliss and Zerick. For the Fraiser’s for sure that is Victoria how her death really affected Walter and Lauren, leading to them being unable to move past it. Right down to her siblings in a way Walter put all his attention on Braden ignoring Dani. Lauren did her best grieving the daughter she didn’t have. Forbes so far was heavily affected as well something he won’t even speak about to anyone. Randall was the prefect person to find out the truth about that night given he was a writer, but sometimes true crime is gritty is all I can say.
Blissful is known for its epic season finales. Can you give us a teaser?
Chris: NOBODY IS SAFE. By the end of the season you will see almost every major character in some sort of peril. I can say this we primed you up for Lowell’s death but the next few…. Oops did I say that? Yup more blood is coming and let’s just say some of your faves might not make it out. Kelly, anything to add?
Kelly: You know how sometimes you put something in the oven to cook and walk away and not set the time? Or how you show up to something totally unprepared and realize it at the last moment? That was what I wanted season 3 to end on we’re halfway through the second act here and like any good play the third and final is always the best. Sometimes those characters don’t make it out alive like that dinner you overcooked.