The CW’s Supernatural prequel, The Winchesters, may be set in the 1970s and chronicles how John Winchester and Mary Campbell met and fell in love, going on to become the parents of Sam and Dean Winchester, but they’re only part of the story. Joining John and Mary as they hunt demons and monsters and work to save the world are Carlos (Jojo Fleites) and hunter-in-training Latika. Played by Nida Khurshid, Latika may still be learning the ropes as a hunter, but she has a lot of intellectual knowledge which makes her a formidable force in her own right — something that comes in handy in this week’s “Teach Your Children Well” when it comes to dealing with an entity that may not be exactly what it first seems.
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ComicBook.com sat down with Khurshid to talk about being part of the Supernatural prequel as well as her character’s journey as well as Latika’s part of making up the “hunting sauce” that is the team.
Nicole Drum, ComicBook.com: I know fans of Supernatural have all been really excited about this series since it was announced, and the premiere was such a huge hit. Were you a fan of the original Supernatural series and if so, what has it been like for you to be part of this new chapter of that epic story?
Nida Khurshid: Oh my God, it has been the biggest blessing to be a part of this story. I grew up just loving everything magical, supernatural, witches, vampires, monsters, hunters, all of that was totally up my alley and it was such a great escape for reality when you’re growing up and you feel so different and then you watch something like Supernatural, which allows you to go into a different world for a second and feel like you belong in that world. So then, coming on this show was just such a beautiful full circle moment for me. I haven’t seen every episode like my lovely co-star Drake Rodger, but I have seen quite a lot of them and it’s just still so surreal and I just feel so very grateful.
“Rooted in who we are as humans.”
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And with you being a fan of all things like magical, witchy, vampires and all of that, the show, like in Supernatural as well, kind of digs into a lot of stuff that seems super out there, but so much of it is based in lore, mythology, oral traditions. Have you had to do a lot of research for this, or have you learned anything new or interesting that maybe was not in your wheelhouse of interest before?
I think that was one of the really exciting things about coming onto this project was that, I mean, I loved doing research myself and Latika loves doing research and I think we’re both very similar in a lot of ways. So, getting to figure her out was, I was like, Okay, well let me do my own research on lore, myth, and monsters and also Latika being of the Pakistani Indian background and what are some of the myths and monsters within my own culture. And I did quite a bit of research on that and shared that research with Robbie, our amazing showrunner. And it’s been fascinating realizing that so much of what we see on television and in movies as far as the supernatural world goes, it’s really rooted in history about what a lot of people genuinely thought was real and a lot of superstition. And it’s not just new stuff, it’s been around for centuries. And I think that’s so cool that this is just rooted in who we are as human beings.
Finding her footing
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It makes it so much more of an enriching experience. And you mentioned your character, the way she is and how you kind of relate to that. One of the things as a viewer that I really appreciate about your character is that she is kind of a bookworm, and she does go into all the book smarts of that because I feel like that is an aspect of monster hunting and the supernatural that we don’t always get to see play out in series that dig into stuff like this. It’s just kind of a lost aspect of it. This week’s episode in particular, we see that book smarts really being kind of the most important part of this whole hunting monster situation. But we also see that Mary doesn’t really want to listen because she’s got her own ideas of how this should be in her own tunnel vision. How does your character see her place on the team, given that she’s very much into the knowledge of things?
I think Latika is still finding her footing right now, not only as a hunter in training, but also just as a human being and who she is existing in society. And I think there’s a lot of respect that both Mary and Latika have for each other. I think that Latika has put the Campbell family on a pedestal for good reason, and she’s really honoring everything they’re teaching and telling her. And she realizes that Mary is just coming from a place of love right now and wanting to protect Latika. But at the end of the day, knowledge is power, and Latika has a lot of knowledge. And I think in the next few episodes, especially towards the end of two, we see that Mary is coming to realize that this is a beautiful team dynamic the four of them have. And each one of them really bring their own individual, beautiful ingredient to make this hunting sauce. You know what I mean? And you can’t have the sauce without each ingredient.
How the ’70s and now are similar
What I also really enjoy about this series, it’s set in the seventies. I’m like, those outfits are cool. And their music was cool, and this show has cool music and cool fashion. And I have to say though of everyone in this series, I love your character’s wardrobe most. What has been your favorite thing about telling this story set in this time period? But are there also any challenges that you faced with this being, I guess kind of a period piece?
My favorite part about shooting in the seventies is that I think it’s very similar to where we are right now as a society. In the seventies, there was a lot of uproar and change, wanting to be had, women were speaking up a lot more, everything was sort of shifting.
And I think that’s such an interesting place to tell a story, especially about monsters. I use the monster analogy and I even mean us human beings as monsters sometimes. And I think that all across the world, there’s a lot of interesting stuff happening in the seventies. And when Latika was growing up, even where she’s from, she moved from Pakistan in India to England to Lawrence, Kansas. And I think she’s used to a lot of change happening around her. But at the same time, she is still an immigrant, finding her footing constantly and a young hunter training, finding her footing constantly. And that has been a really beautiful challenge to sort of face and figure out how she’s going to handle herself. And that’s another thing that I really love about our show is that it’s not only monsters, but it’s also digging into the humanity of these characters and who they are and what their dynamics are and how we’re all more similar than we are different.
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What’s next for Latika
And obviously Jensen Ackles is a huge part of this show, and I don’t just mean because of obviously the Supernatural of it all and being the narrator, he’s also one of the eps. He is largely a big part of why this is even happening. We get to tell these stories. Do you get to work with him at all? And is there any advice that he gave you about being part of this universe, which is obviously so deeply loved by fans?
We got to work with Jensen the pilot and he was there pretty much every single day, day in and day out. It just felt so lovely having there him there on set because anytime we did have a question, comment, concern, anytime we were nervous, we could just look to Jensen, and he would provide such beautiful insight and be this calming force. But at the same time, we were like, Oh my God, we have to do this well, because Jensen is standing right there. So, it was wonderful. Wonderfully nerve wracking and calming all together at the same time. No, but he is so wonderful and I anytime, we do have a question or advice that we seek, he’s truly all there for us. And I think I can speak for the four of us when I say this, that we’re genuinely so grateful that he’s so hands on with this.
Is there anything that fans can expect to prepare themselves for your character’s journey this season?
Something that they can expect is that Latika has a lot to her. She is more than what she puts on right now. And I think we all are as human beings, and I think it’s the choices that we make that either bring out the good, the bad, the shy, the confident, whatever it is. It all boils down to our choices. And I think Latika is very specific about her choices right now, but I’m excited for everyone to see further what choices Latika makes.
The Winchesters airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
