Wynonna Earp’s Tim Rozon is As Excited As Anybody To Have the Show Back

After a really, really long wait, Wynonna Earp is headed back to SYFY this weekend. July 26 will mark the season four premiere, picking up from a season three cliffhanger that was even harder for Earpers to sit through given that financial issues with the studio led to a lengthy delay in getting Wynonna back in action. We spoke with Tim Rozon, who plays Doc Holliday in the beloved series, and it’s probably no surprise that he was exuberant in his enthusiasm to be back on set, and grateful for the fans who fought tooth and nail to bring the series back to life.

With Bulshar, the villain who drove much of the plot in the show’s first three seasons, now in the rear-view mirror and a number of big changes to the series coming this season, things in Purgatory are pretty strange. Not that they haven’t been all along.

Rozon joined ComicBook.com to talk about the season ahead of this weekend’s premiere.

We come into this season dealing with the fallout of last season’s cliffhanger, but what was it like as an actor, after this extended hiatus, to be essentially doing a lot of one-on-one scenes with the same one or two people, rather than the full cast?

We almost lost Wynonna Earp that year, so it was one of those things where I was even more grateful than ever to be back. I mean, I was 100% aware how lucky I was to be on the show and to be a part of it and how absolutely special it is. I’ve been on other projects, but there’s just something about Wynonna Earp. I think a lot of people feel that. When we almost lost it, and everybody fought for it so hard, when I got back, I was just so grateful to be back. To have almost lose something you love so much, and to get it back…as much as it sucked losing it, it was such a great feeling being back on set.

It was actually great that it was mostly just Dom and me, because we could just sit there and kind of take it in, like “hey, man, we’re back.” We could just dip our toes in without jumping in fully. It was great. It was a great feeling.

You have to know how beloved you guys, and the show, are with the fans. Were you guys even really surprised that they went to war for you?

I agree with your statement 100%. We were aware how lucky we were. That fandom’s been incredible almost immediately, since day one. You could just feel it since the hashtag “Earper” kind of became its own thing. Just the momentum, and the movement, and how powerful that fandom can be.

Was I surprised? I don’t know if surprised was the word. I was always inspired; they just constantly inspire me. When they fought, and they were putting up the billboards in Times Square — other fandoms did it after us, but Wynonna Earp was the first. That’s why I drove to New York City, and I got billboards back in appreciation, and I went in Times Square and I went to meet some fans. I didn’t know who would show up. Only supposed to be maybe four or five people, and probably 50 to 60 Earpers were there in the middle of Times Square. It was an incredible feeling, and moment, to know we were all fighting for something we loved together. Then we got it back, and it was just great, because if anybody deserves a win, it’s this fandom. It makes me happy.

Your show is wildly different than what Beau Smith originally set out to do, and has reinvigorated even the comics, too. Is it kind of exciting to know that, post-Bulshar, you’re evolving the mythology one more dial forward?

You know, oddly enough, the comic books and the show still parallel each other in a lot of ways. It’s like we haven’t really heard about Black Badge Division anymore, so it’s almost like they’re gone.

Who’s the new villain? That’s how the comic books were. There’s just a new villain all the time, a monster or demons or whatever. It’s kind of exciting to be not knowing. I get the scripts, and I just don’t know what’s coming. I definitely don’t make any assumptions.

Any interest on your part in working with IDW to fill in some of the gaps in this in between the seasons? Obviously, a lot happens between the end of last year and the first couple episodes of this year.

Listen, I’m always open and willing to working with Beau. We’ve discussed it multiple times. If you would have told me when this started that I would co-write — I think we’ve written two graphic novels together now, and in total, that’s almost 10 single issues I’ve co-written for IDW — I never would have believed you.

I love acting on the show, but getting to write the comic with Beau was just a special experience that’s just totally different like just like a life-long dream fulfilled on another level. Beau is a great, great, great guy, very humble man, and the fact that he gave me the opportunity to co-write with him on his own property, it just shows you the stature and kind of man that he is. He’s a great guy. I’m down to write comic books whenever. It’s never about me being too busy, because don’t worry, I don’t mind being busy.

Is there a relationship that you were particularly kind of pleased with how it evolved in the first bit of season four? Is there something we should watch out for where you’re like, “Oh, yeah, Doc and X is going to be a great thing to watch” or whatever?

Well, obviously Doc and Wynonna is going to be the thing to watch. There’s obviously a love story there. Not in the traditional sense, and maybe not the easy love story, but there’s a lot going on there, which makes it really interesting. I think we really get into it this year. I’m excited for people to see what happens. I’m frightened, but I’m excited.