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Kristin Kreuk as Cassandra in `Murder in a Small Town` on FOX. (Photo by James Dimmock/ FOX // ©2024 Fox Media LLC)

Fantastic fan-favorite Kristin Kreuk previews new FOX series 'Murder in a Small Town'

by jmaloni

Thu, Sep 12th 2024 03:25 pm

Behind the Screens with Joshua Maloni

In much the same way her character, Lana Lang, stole the heart of one Clark Kent, Kristin Kreuk stole TV viewers’ hearts when she starred on the much-loved “Smallville.”

It’s less ironic, then, that, just as the fictionalized girl next door grew up, developed powers and set out to conquer the world (or, at least its villains), so, too, the Canadian actress would evolve, master her craft, and triumph over her dominion (or, at least its pilot seasons).

From “Smallville,” Kreuk would nerd-out in a guest-starring arc on “Chuck” before going on to star in “Beauty and the Beast” and “Burden of Truth.” In each role – as a tech geek, a butt-kicking detective, and a justice-seeking lawyer, Kreuk was the center of our attention. She created a through line in which each character was comfortable, yet demanding our respect – the person we’d love to hang out with, or call when in need of a fierce defender.

These qualities carry over into Kreuk’s new role on “Murder in a Small Town,” that of librarian Cassandra – whom the network calls the “muse, foil and romantic interest” to sheriff Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland – Kiefer’s half-brother, and the late Donald’s son).

In the new hour-long drama, dead bodies unexpectedly start to populate the quiet, picturesque coastal town. Alberg, though a somewhat socially awkward single parent, is a brilliant mind when it comes to cracking cases. Still, there’s something about this community, and its players, that will require Cassandra’s help.

“Murder in a Small Town” is based on the Edgar Award-winning, nine-book “Karl Alberg” series by L.R. Wright. It is a suspenseful, playful, intriguing series fans of the mystery genre will definitely enjoy and set their DVR to record each week.

Kreuk explained more in this edited Q&A. “Murder in a Small Town” makes its series premiere Tuesday, Sept. 24 (8-9:30 p.m. ET/PT), on FOX.

BTS: I find that my colleagues and I, this time of year, we get real excited about season premieres. Of course, that is someone else’s work. I wonder, when it's your work, what is the emotion? You’ve been involved in a lot of great projects. Do you still get excited when something you’ve worked on premieres?

Kristin Kreuk: Yes, but also terrified (laughs). Wouldn’t you? I mean, it's wonderful and exciting, and it is the work of so many people – and so many people I care about. And I grew to really love a lot of the people that I worked with on this show, so it's wonderful to take that thing that we made together and bring it out into the world. But it's also very exposing, and my face happens to be in it, and then I feel uncomfortable; but that is part of the job, I suppose.

BTS: For the people who have seen the trailers, who may be familiar with the book, with the characters, what can you tell me about this show, and what can fans and audience members look forward to with this series?

Kristin Kreuk: Yeah, I mean, it's called “Murder in a Small Town” for a reason: There is a murder almost every episode – but not every episode. It is mostly whodunit, although there are some whydunit aspects to it, as well. We're always looking into the psychology of these characters.

It takes place in a gorgeous part of British Columbia, although I think it is the Sunshine Coast America. But it is ocean and beaches and beautiful trees and mountains, and it's gorgeous. And there's a love story at its heart. And I think people can expect to come in and become really familiar with this cast of characters and grow to like them a lot, and also get excitement from solving crimes and learning about why people are doing these crimes.

And every episode, on the whole, we have a wonderful guest star, or multiple guest stars, from people like James Cromwell and Stana Katic to Noah Reid, who is a brilliant actor, and Erica Durance. There's so many wonderful things for people to tune into.

••••••••

BTS: Watching the first episode and seeing your character really run the gamut of so many different emotions, and have so many cool, different things that you were able to do in that story, I can see why it would be appealing to be a part of this series. But you tell me: What was the thing that hooked you? What was the thing that got you to say, “Yes”?

Kristin Kreuk: I think you're right. Cassandra is the thing that made me fascinated with the show, because she was a character that I hadn't quite played before, and I was interested in doing that. I also loved the story between her and George, who is played by James Cromwell in the first episode. I loved their arc, and I loved the kind of moral dilemma that Cassandra goes through in this episode, really debating how to face the reality that one of her friends may have done something really destructive; and what does that mean in the circumstances of his life, in the context of his life, and in the context of their relationship. I loved those aspects of the show.

BTS: One of the things that always is impressive to me is when there's genuine chemistry between the leads, and particularly in this case, seeing that scene with Cassandra and with Karl at the restaurant at the very beginning of the episode. That was a fantastic scene. And I wonder – this is just the first episode; it's not like you've had years and years and years to prep and to get to know each other – what is the key to having chemistry like that, and how do you get it so good, so fast?

Kristin Kreuk: Oh, my God, isn't this the question that nobody can answer (laughs)? If everyone could figure out chemistry, everyone would have a hit on their hands, I imagine!

I don't know. I've been really lucky when it comes to this, with every actor I've worked with, like every kind of love relationship on a show that I've worked with. I have been so lucky to be able to fall into a lovely dynamic with the other actor very quickly. And each relationship has a different quality and a different consistency.

And I will say that scene, that date scene, is the first scene that we shot of the show, and we just went into a room, and Milan (Cheylov), who directed it, gave us ultimate freedom. I am an actor who's been doing this a long time. I am very conscious of technique. I am conscious of where my hands go, what I'm doing, making sure continuity works. And he forced me to just not care about it, which is really, really hard for me to do. I’ve just been trained to do that. So, he gave freedom in that space. So, I think having the freedom to just play.

He wanted us to do it slightly differently every time, just to kind of move with the flow. And I think that we were just lucky in that Rossif and I have similar sensibilities and felt very at ease with each other, so that we could find it.

But I think trust is a big part of chemistry, at least that's been my experience. Trust with another actor, at least for me, so that I can feel safe to take risks and to be vulnerable. Because that's where I'm going to be able to be most connected. I think some people thrive in conflict, but I would say that trust is one of the most important things.

••••••••

BTS: I appreciate you getting into some of the mechanics behind that scene. It sort of leads into my next question, because when we see it, it looks so effortless – what you would expect two people in this situation to be doing.

I'm sure that's the goal. But to your point, I mean, a lot of work goes into this, and that's something that audiences don't necessarily know. They don't necessarily stop to think about. In as much as maybe you'd like to have that audience recognition of, “Wow, so much time and hard work went into this is,” really, though, isn’t that the goal at the end of the day, for it to come off so seamless and easygoing that audiences just don't take note of the hard work that went into it?

Kristin Kreuk: Yes, God, yes. One hundred percent, yes. If they were like, “Whoa, that looks really difficult, that must have been a lot of work,” we failed. Miserably failed. So, the fact that it feels effortless is important. But also, it was. For Rossif and I, there was the genuine awkwardness of getting to know how to work with each other. This is our first scene, and the scene itself really leans into that.

So, yes, there's a lot that goes into it. I'm happy it didn't feel like it did, but it also didn't feel like that for us performing it. We just got to play. It was the most free I felt in a long time acting.

BTS: I'm grateful this show doesn't give us a “will they or won't they,” like nine out of every other 10 shows. We sort of know where this is at, at least initially. I mean, I'm sure that the relationship will ebb and flow over time. But as far as the crimefighting aspect of this thing goes, what will Cassandra's involvement be? Obviously, she's the muse, but is she also going to get to a point where she's helping to solve these mysteries on a regular basis?

Kristin Kreuk: Yeah, it’s a good question – and it's something that I thought about a lot, too, at the beginning of this. Like, what role does Cassandra play in this? Apart from, you know, relating with Karl.

The first season, I'm kind of thankful that I'm not getting into crime-solving with everybody. It doesn't feel quite authentic. We're trying to keep it a little more realistic. But she'll be involved in those stories in a variety of ways. She's been a member of this community for a long time. She knows a lot of the people in the community. She knows the people who maybe are being accused of committing crimes or who have committed crimes. She is also somebody that Karl cares about. So, you know, there is a point in the season where she may be under threat. So, there are things like that that come up.

But it's nice, because, for me as an actor, it's nice because I'm often not a part of the crime storyline, and it's such a joy to be able to play outside of that, because I've done it. I've done it many times, and it's just a different acting muscle. And not being involved in those stories a lot allows me to do something else entirely.

WATCH:

BTS: You know, no shade to any actor who's in an earlier part of their career, or their on-screen trajectory, but, with a lot of shows like this, you don't get the quality or the caliber of guest stars – and you alluded to this a minute ago. You don't get a James Cromwell or a Stana Katic or Erica Durance. Did you know coming into this that you would be getting this level of guest star, or was that a pleasant surprise?

Kristin Kreuk: Gosh, it was a surprise. Was it ever! When I got notified at some point that James Cromwell was going to be our first guest star, I was blown away. And that just set it off. Once James was in, then lots of people were in, and that was exciting, because it is the guest stars that kind of come in and carry the episodes.

There's a strong guest star focus on this show. They bring a lot of the tone of the episode, and they bring, obviously, the “A” storyline in. So, they're pivotal. And having good actors is key. And we were so lucky. We got to have such great actors. And I'm grateful that I got to work with a bunch of them. Even like Devon Sawa, I got a whole bunch of scenes with, and he was a joy to work with.

So, there's a whole slew of people that audiences will get to watch and enjoy.

And, too, things that they don't normally do. I think Stana is doing something I don't know that she's ever done before. I know she has a lot of fans that are really looking forward to seeing her work.

••••••••

BTS: I want to ask you about fan interaction. For me, my father passed away a couple summers ago, but he and I, we always made it a point to watch “Smallville.” You've been a part of so many great projects, so many great characters. I'm wondering, in 2024, what is the conversation with fans? What is the thing that they pick your brain about the most these days?

Kristin Kreuk: Yeah, I mean, I've been doing a lot of conventions, and what you just said is often what I hear about “Smallville,” especially. “This is a show I watched with my dad.” “This is a show I watched with my grandparents.” “This is a show, now, that I watch with my kids.”

I have kids that come up who are named Lana. I have kids that come up who are passionate about the show, who just want to talk about it, because their parent introduced them to it; because it's on streaming now. And so, I really get to talk about family connections the most, and about the meaning of these shows to people, to their hearts.

And it's so gratifying to know that I've been a part of things that have allowed people to either connect to individuals in their lives – sometimes the only way they knew how to connect – or to have peace when things were hard. Being a being a part of a comfort show is a real blessing.

There was a point in my career, in my life, I may have, like, pooh-poohed the whole thing. Growing up in the ’90s, we were very strict about our selling out (laughs). But now, I really do not have those judgments, and I feel really blessed.