In September, I, along with a few other writers, had the chance to visit the Chicago set of USA Network’s hit comedy series Sirens, which follows the professional and personal lives of three EMTs in the Windy City. (The set is not far from where Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. are shot, and during chats with cast members of Sirens, they said sometimes the various casts get together for softball games and other fun.)
Before watching the filming of a scene, we toured the set, which included a newly built hospital set for the second season (visits to the hospital in Season 1 were shot at Rush Hospital, but now the cast and crew have their own facility in which to play).
Along with a new set, there are some other new things to look for in Season 2, as I found out when talking with executive producer Bob Fisher.
“Our main couple, Johnny [Michael Mosley] and Theresa [Jessica McNamee], are moving in together this year, so we’ll see what happens with that,” said Fisher. “And Hank [Kevin Daniels], we’re going to see what kind of relationship he has. It will kind of pepper through the season, and so we’ll do the relationship stuff, too. And, ultimately, you know it’s about this and really probably even more than just about three guys. The other thing is Theresa’s partner Billy, played by Josh Segarra, is a fricking hilarious dude, [and] he’s a regular this season. He’s really, really funny; he’s going to be in every episode so we’ll be in the cop car with Theresa and Billy a lot this year. At the same time, we are in rigs with our main three guys and also Voodoo and Cash and Stats and the other side characters.”
Speaking of “Voodoo” (Kelly O’Sulllivan), that character apparently struck a chord with viewers last season, and her relationship with Brian (Kevin Bigley) will also be delved into this season, as Fisher explained.
“She’s identified as this asexual, and it was just an interesting way to come in and have Brian have an interesting kind of relationship, and so it was kind of an interesting thing to sort of explore. It kind of resonated with alot of people, I got nice stuff from people who, you know, identify as asexual, and it felt kind of good, so we’re gonna do some stuff with that this year and see what happens with them and kind of other stuff.”
Fisher also commented on how well-received Sirens has been among real-life EMTs.
“A lot of time,” Fisher said, “I meet them and then I’d say ‘I’m doing a show with a EMT’ and they’re like, ‘Is it a drama or comedy?’ So I say, ‘It’s a comedy,’ and they’re like, ‘Thank God.’
“I don’t know if you have ever seen them, but there all these EMT blogs and, you know, there have been several books about people writing kind of stories and stuff like that and it’s really shocking how many common stories you hear over and over again.”
Season 2 of Sirens will feature more episodes — 13 — which will cause shooting to “go deeper into that Chicago cold,” according to Fisher, who recalled getting out of the Windy City last year just ahead of the infamous polar vortex.
“We got out probably right before it really hit in, but a lot of us are Californians, so a late October Chicago feels like the polar vortex. I’m going to be honest. I love this city with just a tremendous passion, and I hope to never be here for a vortex of any kind.”
Sirens Season 2 kicks off with back-to-back episodes at 10pm and 10:30pm ET/PT Jan. 27 on USA Network. The series airs regularly Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT.
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Chuck Hodes/USA Network
