'Falling Water' dives deep into dreams, with hints of deja vu
Executive producer Gale Anne Hurd talks about the cerebral sci-fi series that searches for meaning in the surreal moments created when we close our eyes.
When you fall asleep, do you ever wonder if your dream might be a puzzle piece to your subconscious desires, or something more prophetic?
The new sci-fi thriller "Falling Water" -- which debuted in the US in October on USA Network and arrives in the UK this month on Amazon Prime Video -- tells the story of three people (Lizzie Brocheré, David Ajala and Will Yun Lee) who begin to suspect they're each dreaming part of a single dream with clues to the world's fate.
Created by the late Henry Bromell ("Homeland"), Blake Masters ("Brotherhood") and executive producer Gale Anne Hurd ("The Walking Dead"), the show explores the possibilities that three strangers could be connected through their dreams and that the implications could be much larger than their personal desires.
"'Falling Water' takes us into a world we haven't really experienced in television, but it does so through characters and that's what fascinated me," Hurd said in an interview. "There are three principal characters who are all missing something in their lives. But at the same time their dreams are connected to people and potentially worlds that we could all connect with using the 90 percent of our brain we're not currently using."
Dreams and the subconscious mind make compelling material for a TV series, and Hurd was drawn into the story when she first read Bromell and Masters' script.
"Right now more and more we're searching for answers in the metaphysical," Hurd said. "I think we've accepted that there are things out there that we don't know that influence our daily lives, and this was a way to examine that."
It's the same sort of thing that inspired the movie "Inception" and shows like "Sense8," she said, noting that "Falling Water" was "written before any of those."
Tess (played by Lizzie Brocheré) undergoes tests to better understand her cryptic dreams in "Falling Water."
"Falling Water" isn't just about an unusual yet ethereal landscape. More than anything else, it's the complexity of the characters that drives the series. Tess, played by Brocheré, thinks she's had a baby, but there's no evidence she was ever pregnant or gave birth. It's haunting her and she sees a child in her dreams.
The character Burton, played by Ajala, is a fixer in financial services company in New York City, and he's madly in love with a woman who he can't prove exists outside of his dreams. Lee's character, Taka, has had a mother he sees in his dreams who's been catatonic for many, many years, and he's trying to connect with her.
"I think we're all seeking connection," Hurd said. "Our show is inspired by how powerful these characters' dreams are. That's one way to explore the world and people around us. All of us have had that deja vu experience where we think about someone we haven't thought about in a long time and they'll actually call us or Facebook us. It happens to everybody."
The show explores the connections we're not aware of, including the potential for danger and exploitation, Hurd said. "There are powerful things beyond the scope of technology."
"Falling Water" is available to watch on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Xbox One, Google Play in the US, and on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
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