The new season of Shadowhunters is here! The hit Freeform show just began its newest season, and YEM has the inside scoop. At last year’s New York Comic Con, YEM sat down with the show’s stars: Katherine McNamara (who plays Clary) and Matthew Daddario (who plays Alec). They gave us a preview of what’s to come this season and how fans are influencing the adventurous show.
Young Entertainment Mag: Which relationship would you bet on: Clary and Jace, or Magnus and Alec?
Katherine McNamara: We have to figure out what’s going with Jace before anything else.
Matthew Daddario: Jace is not ready [for a relationship], but with Alec and Magnus, we don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even know what’s going to happen. I only know as far as episode 5 [of the upcoming 3rd season].
Katherine: We really don’t know what’s happening. But ultimately, you do get to see them in their relationships for the first time dealing with things that aren’t crises. Especially with Clary and Jace, they’ve never actually had a chance at a real relationship, and now that they do, you get to see them acting like a normal couple. You see Jace making an effort. You see Clary making an effort, and you get to see their insecurities in their relationship and with each other. It’s very human, and it’s very endearing to see these characters vulnerable to something that is not world-ending.
YEM: Do the writers usually tell you anything that’s coming or do you do they hold surprises until then, when you have the script?
Katherine: Yeah, we get surprises all the time.
Matthew: We largely don’t know anything until the scripts come out.
YEM: So with Jace’s current situation, is this going to effect his character’s relationships?
Matthew: So this is a central theme, isn’t it? He’s going to cause some problems. Clary is going to cause some problems too.
Katherine: I always cause problems.
Matthew: Because Clary is not truthful or straightforward. And I think Alec is going to struggle a little bit with exactly what’s going on because they’re not being entirely truthful either. Alec is living his life trying to do the right thing, and everybody is making it difficult for him, which is another ongoing theme.
Katherine: All we’re trying to do is protect Alec from being in as much trouble as we are.
Matthew: Do we have to go over the fiduciary responsibility chat?
Katherine: We don’t have to go over that! I’m not talking about what’s right or wrong, I’m talking from Clary’s perspective. So, Jace and Clary know their secret [relationship] is going to come out eventually, and that they’re going to be in massive trouble, but they want to have the least collateral damage as possible.
YEM: Is this season going to change tonally?
Katherine: This season, the show will be quite a bit scarier. They’re bringing in a lot more horror and suspense elements, which allows for more maturity, and it’s fun for us as actors to get to play in that realm.
Matthew: Well, I’m not part of that. That’s you guys.
Katherine: Well, it’s fun for me.
YEM: How much of the fans’ interactions with you, their opinions and their suggestions, are incorporated into the show?
Katherine: I don’t actually know.
Matthew: I would say very little. Sometimes we try to throw little things in, but largely we want the creative process to be on this side of the table.
Katherine: We appreciate hearing it though, because it provides an interesting perspective.
Matthew: Although, If there are bad things [in the show], we use it to eliminate problems, but it’s more reactionary than preventive.
YEM: Alec has become a fan favorite. Why do you think he’s connected so intensely with fans?
Matthew: I think because the problems he’s suffered from—and this is a credit to the writing—are problems that people can relate to. People relate to Alec well because he is, in a lot of ways, the most human of the Shadowhunters. Also, he’s a sweetie pie who does no wrong, and everyone else is the worst, so he’s automatically a fan favorite. Although he does summon demons into the institute all the time, but he’s young and he’s learning. Although, Clary is my favorite character.
Watch Shadowhunters every Tuesday on Freeform!
