‘Them: The Scare’ Team Talks Family Connections, Fears & Horror Influences

Them has never shied away from exploring some of the darkest parts of America’s history.

The first season of this anthology series was centered around the Great Migration of the 1950s and virulent racism in suburban America, and now the second season (all episodes drop on April 25 on Prime Video) focuses on Los Angeles circa 1991, in the direct aftermath of Rodney King’s assault at the hands of the LAPD.

This is where we find Detective Dawn Reeves (Deborah Ayorinde, returning from the first season), as she wrestles with racism and misogyny from her colleagues, familial turmoil, and most terrifyingly, a malevolent entity terrorizing Los Angelenos all over the city — with her loved ones potentially the next targets.

Family Ties

Much of what drives Them: The Scare is Detective Reeves’ fierce devotion to her son, Kel (Joshua J. Williams), and her mother, Athena (Pam Grier), particularly in the face of grounded and supernatural threats alike. The raw emotion and connections between the actors was due to a mix of hard work as well as clicking as a group.

“They were just so open, they helped me in that, so it wasn’t hard,” Ayorinde tells TV Insider. “Pam’s this living legend, she’s just so down to earth and so open, and it never felt like a moment where I needed to earn her kindness or earn her warmth. From day one, I met her and she’s just embraced me and made it so easy to build that chemistry with them because they were so open.”

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Williams and Grier in particular both have reflected on the significant research and thought they put into their characters’ backstories. “I wanted to serve justice to those with disorders like OCD and I wanted to serve justice to those that have coping mechanisms with marijuana, like Kel does,” says Williams. “Even though I was born in the 2000s, I really just wanted to be a ’90s baby! I wanted to get that true ’90s baby feel.”

Similarly Grier says of Athena, “My character’s this woman who was part of the civil rights movement and survived it and found her ability to stand tall… and then, losing my age and my health and my mental stability, and there’s a paranormal episode, and I have a deep secret. Mentally, physically, medically, those are the ultimate fears of Athena. Those elements were really a part of why I accepted the role.”

The Challenges of Horror

Despite being deeply rooted in its characters, Them: The Scare doesn’t skimp on the frights that come with the horror genre either. Series creator, showrunner, and executive producer Little Marvin cites several movies specific to 1991 as being major influences on this season, such as Misery, Cape Fear, and Silence of the Lambs — much of which comes through most clearly with the character of Edmund Gaines (Luke James), an aspiring actor who slowly begins to lose his grip on his sanity.

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James started his acting career in the horror genre. “With everything I’ve done thus far, this is the only thing that I’ve ever really gotten to pull that inner child out of myself, that love for horror, my eccentric ways, and even the dark ways that I may have. This project was also the most physical, emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on,” he says.

For Williams, this was his first foray into horror, and he describes a similar challenge. “I think just working in the horror genre for it was a challenge in and of itself, but I was ready for it,” he shares. “I was ready for something that would challenge me and put me in a different level of my acting capabilities.”

And Ayorinde, despite being no stranger to horror with her leading role in the first season of Them, had to prepare rigorously for the physicality her role required, particularly in a memorable scene that was shot in one take. “We spent just hours working out the scenes because we knew it was gonna be a oner, no cuts, so we had to get it right,” she recalls. “It was tough because there were literally no mistakes that could be made, but it reminded me a lot of theater, it’s like real life, and you just have to keep on going.”

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A Historical Perspective

Even with the fantastical elements of the show, Marvin, the cast, and the crew of Them: The Scare were all dedicated to depicting a wholly accurate version of Los Angeles in 1991. Williams, as the only main cast member who was born after the 1990s, did his own extensive research. “[I was] definitely learning more about the riots that were happening in L.A. with Rodney King, looking at documentaries like LA ‘92, watching different horror films just to get into that zone,” he says.

Adds Marvin, “One thing I really pride myself on is that they’re well-researched, and we do a lot of work to make sure that there’s a level of veracity. We’re not making a docudrama, but we are making a drama that pulls from history. What was exciting to me was watching the evolution of a city in that 30-year time gap… There’s a direct link from the past and the present.”

Them: The Scare, Season Premiere (all episodes), Thursday, April 25, Prime Video