In the crime dramaSight Unseen, currently airing onThe CW, homicide detective Tess Avery (Dolly Lewis) has to quit the job she loves after she loses her sight while on a case, putting the life of her partner, Jake Campbell (Daniel Gillies), at risk. Diagnosed clinically blind and too stubborn for her own good, Tess seeks help from a stranger named Sunny Patel (Agam Darshi) on what’s essentially a seeing eye app and the two work together to help Tess pass as sighted. If they can successfully enable Tess to continue to solve cases, then she might not have to completely redefine her identity.
While Tess is trying to figure out her new normal without letting the Metro PD turn her into a PR token forced to ride a desk, Jake must figure out the best way to work cases with Tess without putting himself in danger. During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Gillies talked about what initially drew him toSight Unseen, why he likes this character, what he’s learned from working with co-star Lewis who has her own real-life sight impairment, his desire to lean into the humor and the darkness of the series, the Tess and Jake dynamic, and how he feels about their chances for a Season 2.
Sight Unseen
Daniel Gillies Was Attracted to ‘Sight Unseen’ For Its Exciting Approach to a Familiar Genre
Collider: There are a lot of cop shows out there, but this one is taking a very different approach. How was this series described to you? What was it that got you interested or excited about it?
DANIEL GILLIES: It was the pedigree of it. I knew that John Fawcett was involved, and I heard wonderful things about the showrunners, Niko [Troubetzkoy] and Kat [Troubetzkoy]. I also liked the idea thatthey were brave enough to cast somebody who really was sight impairedbecause they could have easily gone another way with that. The fact that they were doing that meant that they were honoring something. But then, not only did they find somebody with a similar condition, but they chose somebody who also happens to be a phenomenal actress and a beautiful person. All those things were a recipe for a good time.
What has it been like to figure that out with Dolly Lewis and to make that work in the scenes that you have together? What have you learned from the process of figuring out how to shoot that, so that it reads for the audience?
GILLIES: A lot of it is technical and in-camera. We have what’s called the Tess cam, where it’s her perspective. And then, we also have the Eyes Up camera, which is Sunny’s perspective. And you have POVs, as well. You can have a multitude of shots, so a lot of it has to do with the creation. I like that they’re trying to give a first-person experience to the viewer, of the difficulty of navigating this situation.For me, it was just a matter of turning up and learning and watching and being educated.It was fun to shoot.
Dolly Lewis Brings Her Own Experience with Visual Impairment to ‘Sight Unseen’
Lewis also talks about the wild drive Tess and Jake (played by Daniel Gillies) take together in Season 1.
What do you like about this character? What have you enjoyed about playing him that you haven’t gotten to do before?
GILLIES: It’s nice to be on a show where I get to explore somebody that’s human. That’s not fair to the last couple of projects I’ve done, but they just weren’t long-lived. I was doing films, or I was doing things very briefly. I was essentially a ghost inVirgin River. For me, this exploration has been nice. I enjoy learning about the law and detective work, and watching Dolly is thoroughly enjoyable. I really do hope we get to do it all over again because it’s so much fun.
How do you hope viewers of the series watching it on The CW will feel about the way things play out this season and where you leave things for these characters?
GILLIES: All you can hope for is that viewers are engaged and entertained and somewhat sympathetic to our protagonists.
Daniel Gillies Wants to Lean Into the Humor and Darkness in ‘Sight Unseen’
This show is dark sometimes, but it’s hard for that not to be the case when you’re making a cop show where some terrible crimes happen. However, the show also definitely has humor. What has it been like to find that balance? Do you enjoy finding the humor in darker situations?
GILLIES: Yeah, I’m always looking for the humor. I hope we lean into it more in the future. To be fair to our writers, they’re very funny people, and more than any show I’ve ever been on, they’re willing to talk about anything and put anything under the microscope. They’re precious about nothing, which I love. That’s real confidence. When you have confidence as an artist, you’re prepared to put your things under that kind of scrutiny. I want to lean harder into the darkness, frankly. With The CW rebranding and finding a new face and probably a new audience, I think we should make this terrifying.We should make this as frightening asMindhunter, the David Fincher series.I want us to feel that desolate and scary and terrifying at times, and I think we can.
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What can you say about the Tess and Jake relationship and how that will continue to play out?
GILLIES: I just don’t see them being able to work as partners and lovers. I wouldn’t recommend it. It seems terrible. I also think our writers are wise. It’s a room of very smart, lovely people, and I just don’t see them mixing the church and state of it. I see them dabbling and dipping their toe occasionally because they’re going to get network pressure to do so, or maybe that’s not network pressure and is just their own curiosity. Maybe I’m completely off, but I see these writers as trying to create further division between us, so we can get on with the job, or jobs, at hand, from week to week, because one threatens to consume the other.
What is this new situation like for Tess and Jake to navigate while they’re working on cases? Does it feel like a real learning curve, as he underestimates or overestimates her?
GILLIES: He’s guilty of both, and it’s case specific, as he becomes more and more borderline irresponsible with how liberally he trusts her. She still needs his support, here and there.
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There were more adventures to explore with these characters.
How impressed is he by what she’s still able to accomplish at such a dangerous job?
GILLIES: That’s why it leans into this relationship thing.How could you not fall in love with somebody who’s facing that kind of deluge of adversityand even being as triumphant as she is? One of the core tenants of the crest of the dramatic wave is where the conventional methods of Jake clash with what Tess is discovering, and her innovation and improvisation as a police officer. The collision between those two ideas is one of the central energies of the show.
Daniel Gillies is Confident ‘Sight Unseen’ Will Get a Season 2
Have you had conversations about a possible second season and what that could explore? Are there questions at the end of the season that would carry over if you did more episodes?
GILLIES: I have an eerie confidence about this thing. I don’t want to jinx anything. I’ve had conversations with the other actors and the creators about the potential of the second season, but not in terms of anybody who can pull the lever. I’ve hung out with those men and women, but I’ve asked them nothing, possibly because of superstition or paranoia.I just have a mysterious confidence in the fact that it will be picked up for a second season.I love the way that we leave things, but I don’t want to spoil it for anybody.
