'Wildfire' Fans Second Season Flames

[Mike 5]

'Wildfire' is an engaging ABC Family original drama series that premieres its second season Monday, Jan. 2, after a marathon of season one. And for those who left the starting gate late, here's a recap:

 

Teenager Kris (Genevieve Cortese) worked with horses as part of her jail sentence for theft -- for which she was framed -- and was mentored by Pablo (the underused Greg Serano). She bonds with Wildfire, a touchy horse with personality issues. Up for auction, Wildfire is saved after Kris breaks him out. Community service done, Pablo gets her hired at the Ritter horse farm, the head of which is Jean (Nana Visitor), who takes on both equine and girl.

 

Enter pretty people and family dysfunction -- and take a deep breath. Matt (Micah Alberti), Jean's oldest son, is attracted to Kris but hey, he's the boss's kid. So he goes on a gambling bender and Kris dates the rich neighbor's son, Junior (Ryan Sypek). Dani (Nicole Tubiola), Junior's sister, used to date Matt and hates Kris on sight.

 

At the end of last season, Matt still had gambling issues; Jean pinned her financial future on Wildfire; Pablo let Kris race the temperamental horse; Junior left home; Dani found out she was illegitimate; and Kris and Wildfire had just made it out of the starting gate.

And now they're off to the races again, which is what Visitor knew would happen.

 

"I just ... I kind of knew it," she says. "So I wasn't shocked. I felt that it should go on, and sometimes I've just felt that way about shows, and I felt that way about this one and turned out to be right."

 

Cortese agrees. "I just think -- as cocky as it sounds -- I think we all knew. I just feel like we knew that we had something very unique and a really cool project and I think it was more of a relief. 'OK. We were right about our assumptions.' I just think we were really, really excited."

 

"I've done nine pilots -- I think 'Wildfire' was my 10th -- and this is the longest-running series I've been on," Serano says. "For me, being at it for 10 years, I don't know if I really appreciated it. I really appreciate it because I knew what it was like being on series that got canceled. Or to go do a pilot, a really good pilot, and not get picked up at all. Just really, really, really appreciative of the show getting a second chance."

 

Part of the series' success is due to character complexity, chemistry and of course, horses and beautiful scenery.

 

"The scene I just shot, I had to lead this enormous horse out and do a scene with Greg," Visitor says. "And this horse was basically dissing me by trying to use me as a scratching post. And I had to understand that and know that I say, 'Hey. I invade your space, you don't invade mine.' And there's this whole psychological thing going on with the horse as I'm doing a scene. So I know a lot more about horses than I did before the show, that's for sure."

 

Serano, however, had far less experience with horses, but is determined to learn as he goes. "The research I did was to find out breeds of horses, to know by looking at them what type of horse it was; what makes a Thoroughbred a Thoroughbred, a quarter horse a quarter horse -- that kind of stuff," he says. "But the other thing is being comfortable, you either are or you aren't. It's kind of like people who have fears of things and other people just don't. From the very beginning, I was wary -- I knew that they're skittish animals but at the same time, I wasn't fearful."

 

Of the three of them, Cortese felt the most at home. "My mom has horses," she says, "so I grew up around them and I'm very comfortable with them. I grew up basically just kind of winging it and riding bareback -- Western saddle and stuff like that. It was much more casual, but I'm very comfortable and I grew up around them. But I've never raced them. I mean, I've gotten in trouble when I've raced them across the golf course, but that's about it."

 

Listening to Cortese, Visitor and Serano talk, one can feel the warm fuzzies.

 

"Do you know, these children are amazing," Visitor says of her young co-stars. "They're smart and funny and really good actors ... each one of them is remarkable in their own right and pretty great people. I'm really fond of them."

 

"What I really love about the show is that there are eight completely different characters," Serano says. "Different types of people; we all bring something different to the stage. I like it. It's fun being around the kids; they're my best friends and we hang out on the weekends. So it's a lot of fun."

 

"I go to Nana all the time," Cortese admits. "She really has been a very important part of shaping who I am, and to how I work and my work ethic and how I handle myself. I owe a lot to her. Because of her, I think, I handle myself differently and the situations differently. And she's really an amazing person to watch, not only in her everyday world, but just how she acts and how she communicates on set. She's really just taken me on, under her wing. It's a really special relationship for me."

 

But will Kris, Jean and Pablo get to rest and relax in season two?

 

"Well, I think the most important thing is that Jean isn't constantly worried about money in the second season. It certainly was necessary to establish that," Visitor says.

 

"Right now," Serano says, "there's a back story of someone in my past that comes back and kind of threatens me to take on this horse that has problems."

 

"I think there's gonna be a lot of stuff resolved and I think stuff gets resolved in different ways," Cortese says. "You know, it's not like you suddenly analyze something and it's solved. It's kind of like you go through certain situations and then you take an adventure on another one."

 

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