Sometimes, the quest for revenge can lead people to find out more about themselves, as well as the chance to discover their own inner resiliency. In season 1 of the acclaimed, award-winning web series DRIFTER (known as DRIFTER: BROKEN ROAD), one woman’s quest to avenge the sudden death of her family at the hand of a mysterious killer leads her on a journey to justice, and towards her own self discovery.
Season 2 of the series, entitled DRIFTER: LONESOME HIGHWAY, does more than just pick up where BROKEN ROAD left off. The series, created by Jason Brasier, and written by Brasier and Brittney Greer, premiered its second season of 8 episodes in 2014. This season promises viewers new characters, longer episodes, and a decidedly different approach to its characters.
DRIFTER: LONESOME HIGHWAY stars Vanessa Leinani as the mysterious title character, an ex-FBI agent and former militia member who decides to put aside her initial goal of avenging her family’s deaths to assist a man known only as The Stranger (played by Jason Preston), a devoted family man and hunter who’s opened up who lives on the ranch that The Chief (played by George Cron) opened up to survivors of the second civil war.
The Stranger fights to protect both his family, and those who seek refuge from the conflict, from the threat posed by the villainous Mustang Sally (Jennifer Eiffert) and her cohorts, the Regulators. The series’ cast also includes Rodney Wiseman as the mysterious Moses Breckenridge, and Drew Diveley as the highly aggressive and violent Moon.
DRIFTER: LONESOME HIGHWAY begins several weeks after the events of BROKEN ROAD, and illustrates the psychological toll that the aftermath of the Second Civil War has taken on both the people of the Midwest, and especially, of Drifter herself. “In season 2, we focus more on the effects of the second Civil War and how it has affected not only Drifter, but the people around her,” Brasier and Greer say.
As a result of the changing storyline, the approach Brasier and Greer took to producing season 2 of DRIFTER also changed, primarily due to its increased cast of characters. “…It’s more of an ensemble cast because we were wanting to show how the effect of the war brought people together and also allowed others to twist their ambitions and throw their morals away,” they add. “Mustang Sally and Moon, the villains for season 2, reflect the dangers of not having law and order.”
In fact, throughout all 8 episodes of DRIFTER: LONESOME HIGHWAY, viewers will also see a more multi-faceted depiction of the show’s protagonist, and how her current situation and relationship with each character is informed by the trauma of her past experiences and the consequences of her actions.
“We see three very different sides of Drifter in this season. We see her post Broken Road events, but we also see her in flashbacks with her saviors the Loudon Rangers,” Brasier and Greer say. “In these scenes we see a very self destructive Drifter, as she is not that far removed from what Agent Sands (the man Drifter seeks to bring to justice, played by Dale Gehris) did to her family.”
Inspired by his longtime love of classic movies, and the works of legendary filmmakers like Sergio Leone, Roger Corman, George Lucas, John Carpenter and Robert Rodriguez, Brasier sought to create a compelling drama in DRIFTER that mixed the vastly different landscapes and dramatic storytelling of westerns and sci-fi. “I love westerns and I love science fiction. I wanted to do a post apocalyptic western and meld the two genres together,” he says.
However, he adds, he also incorporated a unique element that truly sets DRIFTER apart from other similar sci-fi/western hybrids. “I didn’t want to do what everyone else had been doing though, and that’s when I came up with the Second Civil War angle,” Brasier remembers. “That opened up a new realm of possibilities and was something I hadn’t seen. Thus DrifterSeries.com was born.”
For Greer, creative inspirations come in all forms, and from a variety of different sources.
“I am inspired every time I watch a new film or television show, anytime I read a novel or comic book. I think there is so much wonderful material to take inspiration from,” she says.
However, one name stands above the rest. “A personal favorite is Joss Whedon. From his story telling, to the strong and interesting characters he creates, I think what he does is pure genius.”
The adventures of a beautiful, yet tough and highly resourceful vampire slayer also proved to play a pivotal role in Greer’s entry into the world of filmmaking and screenwriting. Yet, she recalls, watching BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER each week also helped her deal with the real life problems she faced as a teenager.
“What I saw on BUFFY growing up is one of the reasons I wanted to get into writing and filmmaking. He makes his characters breathe life like I’ve never seen,” she adds. “Those characters help get me through high school, made me feel like I wasn’t alone, and I would love to do that for others. I would love to do my job well enough that I can have a viewer connect like that.”
With both seasons of DRIFTER produced and filmed on location in Springfield, Missouri, both Brasier and Greer took full advantage of the city’s vast filmmaking and acting talent as shooting got underway. “Springfield, Missouri is a magical place where we have a wishing well full of talent,” they say. “In all seriousness, we have a very close film and theatre community that aren’t afraid to take risks. We have worked with many actors over the years and have found a close knit family.”
Putting together the stories and scripts for every episode of season 2 of DRIFTER was a comprehensive process for Brasier and Greer; one that also emphasized teamwork between the two.
“Jason mapped out the first 3 seasons and knew what stories he wanted to tell. So once it was time for season 2, we would each write an episode, then give notes on those episodes, rewrite, move forward. It was very much a tag team effort in the scripting process,” Greer says.
While season 1 gave Brasier and Greer a chance to fine tune their skills as filmmakers, plus develop the overall storylines and characters for DRIFTER, season 2 offered them the chance to improve the show’s production aesthetics in significant ways. Just as the pre-production process for Brasier and Greer was a study in cooperation, the task of filming each episode of season 2 was even more of a team effort.
“We really pushed the envelope in season 2, doing everything from pyrotechnics to building a full shanty town. We even used a Red camera for slow motion shots and that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Brasier and Greer recall. “We were blessed to work with one of our actors, Jason Preston, who helped greatly with the set design, location scouting, and helping build sets. He was a great asset to our set designer, Kat Trussler.”
Brasier and Greer are currently writing season 3 of DRIFTER, and hope to continue to bring new viewers to their series. Nevertheless, both producers believe that the series reveals so much about life itself, and the true nature of the world we live in.
“We believe that there are many messages to be taken away from DRIFTER, because it’s about someone’s personal journey through hell and back,” they say. “Hopefully people can see that nothing is black and white anymore, and that (we) all find ourselves in a gray world.”
(Note: The series is not currently closed-captioned, but Greer and Brasier say they are planning to add that feature to each episode.)
ON THE WEB: www.drifterseries.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/drifterseries
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DrifterSeries
No Comment