Heli Kennedy On Her "Private Fangirl Moments" Writing Orphan Black: Deviations

03/29/2017 06:47 pm EDT

Since its premiere in 2013, The BBC's Orphan Black has amassed a rabid cult following and a boatload of awards, with fans eagerly dissecting and theorizing about the show's 'rabbit hole' of canon.

In recent years, the world of Orphan Black has expanded even further, with several tie-in comic series released by IDW. The newest comic miniseries, Orphan Black: Deviations, explores an alternate timeline in which Beth's suicide in the pilot neve brought the clones together, and the mythology of the show has to kick off in a wildly different way -- with Beth at the center of it all.

Writer Heli Kennedy, who reteams with Orphan Black: Helsinki artist Wayne Nichols on the series, joined ComicBook.com to talk about it.

You can get a copy of Orphan Black: Deviations #1 at your local comic shop or pick up a digital copy on ComiXology.

Many comics licensed from other media play fast and loose with continuity out of necessity...but here, you've just gone all the way back to the pilot not just for a fresh start but for a dramatic reinvention of the pilot. How did you come to that decision?

Thinking back on the show, both as a fan and writer, I wondered: what if Beth had lived?

(Yeah, it was a private fangirl moment that had me close to doing fanfic on Tumblr…ha.)

To actually serve that kind of storyline, I saw no other way than to go back to the beginning, to the key moment that started it all for Sarah — Beth's suicide. There was something very intriguing about pairing a tormented cop with a criminal on the fringes — enter total clone chaos. Dynamic between the clones (and other characters) is something I love about the show — just think of Felix and Alison or Krystal and, well, anybody… As for continuity, it's a big angle in this set of books — we use and twist it in light of Beth's survival.

Some angles of the story do play faster, but only because Beth already holds many keys to the mystery the clones in the show were uncovering. I wanted Orphan Black: Deviations to pull the story thread away from the original seam at times, but never fully depart from the world's deeper plot mechanism or character agendas.

With the show wrapping up on TV, was this kind of a perfect way to extend the life of what you guys are doing?

Yes and no. I didn't pitch this concept with the intention of extending anything — I just really dug the idea of seeing Beth Childs in action with Sarah. But as an alternate universe story, it's primed with opportunity to keep exploring the deeply rich characters, relationships and mystery the show presents. I've been reading season 5 scripts, and the 'what ifs' are plentiful. The writers just built a really multifaceted universe of amazing characters that's fun to work within. And if it can keep going…hell yeah!

After working with Wayne on Helsinki, have you guys developed a shorthand working on these characters?

Often while I'm writing, I'll sketch out panels to clarify story beats. I think about sending them to Wayne. But then I think about him opening an email with barely decipherable images of deranged stick figures and bizarre kleenex box-like cars. And I cringe. The email never gets sent. And it turns out, Wayne doesn't need it. At all. He really picks up on emotional beats in story, and knows how to enhance and improve them. That's important because the Orphan Black world, though rife with science, is also deeply hinged on personal exploration. You can feel human instinct in Wayne's work. This time around, I feel we're getting the hang of one another's storytelling style. The "shorthand" we're developing is pretty organic. It's great, considering he's working from Australia, while I'm working from Canada!

What, if anything, is different about your relationship with the art team or the artistic approach to this series?

I was really pumped when I found out I'd be working with Wayne, Denton Tipton (editor) and Sebastian Cheng (colorist) again. In the last series, Helsinki, there were a few artists working on interior art. Wayne and Fico Ossio brought the series home together, in the end. This time it's just Wayne on interiors, which has allowed the approach to be more intimate — he can email me ideas based on the script, and I can rework parts of the script based off his sketches. We have an on-going dialogue that includes Sebastian and Denton. It's great having communication like this.

Deviations feels like both a concept with a fairly limited shelf-life -- sooner or later, you'll have to get to how the clones meet up -- and an unlimited one, since it means everything in the entire show plays out differently. Do you hope to revisit this version of the world in the future?

I do, because it's still close enough to the original Orphan Black universe to satisfy the fangirl in me, while departing enough to satisfy the writer in me. I'm hoping others will feel the same!

Did you have any concerns that with so many sci-fi elements already in play in Orphan Black that alternate timelines could be a bridge too far for some readers?

Honestly, I was hyped to see Beth Childs in season 4. The Maggie Chen shooting, her relationship with Paul and Art Bell, her suicide — these parts of Beth's backstory kicked off and informed much of Sarah's journey. I wanted Deviations to pay tribute to the original story by using elements and moments from the show as anchors for a slanted, twisted version. I know, it's a fine line to walk. But I'm playing with existing characters, their hearts, circumstances and desires to keep it grounded.

How major of a character is Beth? Is she essentially a co-lead now that she's in this alive, or will she still be secondary to better-known characters?

Beth is very much a major character — she's alive and totally kicking, story-wise. But don't worry, we haven't lost Sarah Manning. Or other characters from the gang, like Cosima, Alison, MK, Felix, Delphine or even 'Vic the Dick'… The Beth-Sarah dynamic is dependent on everyone around them. They're equal driving forces, sometimes pushing characters forward or holding them back. And the story depends on the relationship between the cop and criminal. They're both strong, secretive, queen bee types who like to run the show.

Both aren't afraid of confrontation yet run when vulnerable. One's a drug addict, the other is practically a dealer. Though their station in life is seemingly opposite, at heart they're very similar. Beth and Sarah could fully support each other or drive each other down dark paths of mutual self-destruction. Fear and Loathing in Toronto? It's totally possible with these two. If they can stand to be around each other long enough…

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.