Season 4 of Wynonna Earp has been a long time coming — and fans will have to wait a bit longer for the second half of the season.
After filming the first six episodes of the season, production hit pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, August 30, there will be a “midseason finale,” followed by a brief break — something not originally planned. Filming just resumed for the second half of the season, so although scripts are done, changes will have to be made.
“We’re going to have to readjust again. We were filming in the freezing cold snow and now we are going to be in the middle of summer,” creator Emily Andras exclusively says in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “Certainly, the scripts are going to have to be rewritten to somewhat address that and we’re really working together as a team to come up with sort of clever ways to make sure you’re getting the show you love.”
Luckily, the sixth episode that will now act as the unplanned “midseason finale” works, Andras says, explaining that as a way “the universe took kindness” on the writers.
“The end of episode six is a really natural break. It’s a really good midseason finale, so it will feel satisfying but intriguing,” she says. “When we do come back for the back half of season 4, it will feel OK. It’s not like we stopped at the absolute worst point. It’s a good time to have a time break if you have to.”
That said, the producer is well-aware that filming amid COVID-19 will not be easy.
“This is going to be a challenge for all of TV production. How are we going to deal with things like intimacy and stunts? There’s a lot of close contact in TV. There are a lot of close sets that you have up to 200 people walking around at any given moment,” Andras tells Us. “So, everybody’s being tested on the regular, masks and gloves and hand sanitizer are the new rule, nonnegotiable. So I’m really proud of the cast and crew and how seriously they’re taking it. We’re one of the first productions to go back up, I believe, so we’re a little bit of a canary in a coal mine.”
She adds: “But the benefit of having such a close-knit cast and crew is that we all sort of sequester in this beautiful Western town and we have always known how to take care of one another. We will continue to do that, and that’s the priority. Safety is the most important thing — making sure the people that come to work for you are OK in every way.”
Wynonna Earp returns on SyFy Sunday, July 26, at 10 p.m. ET.
