Former Stargate producer Joseph Mallozzi is the showrunner, creator, and executive producer of Dark Matter which returns to screens this week. In March he sat down with a group of international journalists to discuss the third season…

What’s new this season?

Thirteen all new episodes for starters! We resolve the big cliff-hanger, obviously, from season two. The last we saw our crew, they’re all getting blown up on EO-7, presumably kicking off this corporate war. And season three will be very much about that – the corporate war – and picking up where we left off, in terms of our crew.

Essentially, season one was about our crew finding out about themselves, their pasts; the fact that they were bad people. Season two was then going out and trying to prove themselves be better people. One of those things that they tried to do, for instance, was try to head off a war. It failed spectacularly, so now season three is going to be them picking up the pieces of that, then basically having the past come back to haunt them in various ways; the corporate war and also our new “Big Bad”, or villain, for season three will be our former ally, Four, Ryo Ishida.

And [we explore] just how the consequences for what happens in season two will play through the different characters, and then we’re going to continue with our story with the various different characters. We’ve got some surprises in store, in terms of characters who are coming back and we continue to develop our characters with their backstories.

Another thing we explored more in season two was the relationship between Three and Five, because I noticed in season one it was something we didn’t really do and I really wanted to do. So we did that episode when they’re out in the woods and I wanted to do something very similar to that this year, where I take various interesting pairings and put them together and just continue to explore the backstories.

The Android originally was supposed to be a background character, but because Zoie Palmer is so fantastic and because the episodes were timing short, I ended up writing extra Android scenes because she was such a fun character.  We created this throughline for the Android regarding these emotions and the fact that in season one she’s like: “I’m not like other androids, I have emotions. I think I’m broken; I’m flawed”. Then in season two we find out that actually it’s not a flaw, it was an intentional design and there’s some sort of connection to Portia, from her past, who did this. In season three, we’re going to find out the backstory of how the Android was created and her connection to Portia. We’re going to find out actually more about Portia and her connection to Dwarf Star – in episode nine, we’re going to Dwarf Star.

One of the nice things about this show is that we set up a lot of mysteries and I think we answer a lot of questions along the way, but we also open up more questions. But I assure you, because I have a five year plan, I know the answers to all these questions, so you will be getting all your answers eventually!

How does this season expand the Dark Matter universe?

There was such a huge contrast between season one and season two: season one was very much micro; you’re on the ship and it was very much about the mystery. And you knew there were corporations out there, you knew there were the GA, but you didn’t really know much about them.

Then in season two, we kind of blew that up and you find out more about who these corporations are and what they’re doing. You find out more about the GA, and that’s something we’ll continue to do in season three. Amidst the backdrop of this corporate war there will be wheelings and dealings; our crew is going to have to figure out who they’re going to basically side with, who’s more convenient to side with and how that plays out, and basically the role of the GA. So yes, in terms of big picture, we will continue to explore that and it sets up an even bigger reveal at the end of the season. But I’ll save that for the finale!

Have you ever been influenced by fans regarding killing a character?

No. In terms of big decisions, no. I read what the fans like. It’s good to know what they like and what’s working for them but there’s never a time when I’ve read something where the fan has been like: “Ah, I hate that character!” and I was like “Oh, this guy on Reddit hates that character, let’s kill him off!” That’s more of a big picture idea.

In the first season the show was very grounded and in the second season, you started to play more with some sci-fi tropes like alternative universes and a hint perhaps of alien life. Is that something we’re going to see a bit more of this season?

Yes, season one was definitely laying the groundwork. Really, we made a concerted effort to establish these characters over these sci-fi concepts. And then, once we had established the characters, then we could relax.

Like Stargate, one of the nice things about Dark Matter is, even though it’s serialised, each episode you kind of tell a story more or less. And you’re kind of free to tell the type of stories you want to tell, so you can do a horror or scary story; a fantasy; historical; funnier story; a darker story. It’s almost like a mini movie every episode.

What would you say is unique and different about this show?

I think the sense of humour is different; the sense of camaraderie and the group. Thematically it’s very different: this notion of redemption and are you born good or bad – are you a product of your environment or can you change? That’s one of the things we try and explore in the show: basically, can you change the past? The past will always come back to haunt you, whether you like it or not, it’s how you can resist it. And some of our characters, you would say, try very hard, some of them don’t try, and some of them fail spectacularly. It’s not going to be the same answer for everyone. I think it’s something that speaks to everyone because basically everybody thinks of themselves as a good person, but I’m sure we all have dark secrets. That’s just kind of fun to explore, so in that respect our show is very different.

Do you remember the movie or TV show that you saw growing up that made you think “I want to do that. I want to tell a story?”

To be honest, I read more than I watched TV when I was a kid. I did watch a lot of Star Trek – the original Star Trek. I never got into Next Generation, I never got into Deep Space, and I watched Voyager, but mainly for Robert Picardo, who played The Doctor.

Star Trek was one and obviously Star Wars when you’re a kid. I read Arthur C. Clarke – a lot of the classics, Harlan Ellison and mainly comic books as well. I liked the heroes, or the anti-heroes, of the comic books. In comic books the characters were always very snarky; there’s a sense of humour about them and that’s what I enjoyed, and that’s what shaped my writing as well.

Was it a deliberate choice this season to not bring any new people onto the ship?

We have a couple of new people on the ship! How long they’re going to stick around is the question, especially after last year we put the “dark” in Dark Matter! Both of our newbies last year kind of bit it, but this year we’re introducing two characters.

One of them is a character named Adrian Marrow and he’s an assistant to our team’s handler, his agent, who was played by David Hewlett, Tabor. Adrian is played by a young actor, Mishka Thebaud, and he’s terrific; very funny. The idea being that he contacts the team, they think that they’re going to help Tabor but it’s him and because of the war, Tabor has packed up and gone and Adrian has taken over his business. He’s sort of like a Tabor wannabe but he’s in way over his head – almost like a kid in that respect. He comes on board the ship and it’s funny to see the contrast between him and Five; Five in the first season was very much the kid that everybody watched over, but as the season progresses into season two and into season three, she’s become a really vital member of the team.

Then he’s joined by his bodyguard – the character’s name is Solara Shockley and she’s played by Ayisha Issa, who guested on 12 Monkeys and a couple of other shows. She’s a black belt in jiu jitsu, she’s very capable, she’s tall and beautiful. Her character is a lot of fun and she’s kind of a no nonsense character, who does not like Three. So basically they go head to head.

And then there’ll be some recurring characters as well, most notably Torri Higginson’s Delaney Truffault, Commander Truffault, who we introduced in episode two of season one, who’s a character I really only imagined bringing in for three episodes and killing her off. It was going to be episode eleven when the white hole bomb exploded, but she had to go to a convention and so we were trying to figure out how to make it work and then I decided: “You know what, just do the two episodes now, because instead of killing you off, I promise you if we get another season, we’ll bring you back”. She’s like “Okay!” and now she’s one of my favourite recurring characters. I’m glad we didn’t kill her off because I think she’s great and she gets actually to come on board the ship this year and do some ass-kicking as well! One of the nice things about our show is that the men and women are equally capable, in just very different ways.

And the show has a very diverse cast. Was this something that was always on your mind?

I would say no. I think in my mind I just reflect the world that I live in and the society. Two is a strong Asian woman because I’ve known a lot of strong Asian women, and Roger is playing Six, not because we needed a diverse character, but because he was the best actor for the role. I find sometimes when you quantify something as “Oh great, it’s diverse”, you kind of undermine the actor because you’re saying you’re not casting him because he’s good, you’re casting him because he’s “diverse”.

I think diversity is important, but I think it’s something that you’ve got to subconsciously do; in time it just becomes natural to reflect your society, rather than saying: “We’ve have to put this type of character here” or “this type of character here”. At the end of the day, you just want to hire the best performer. I think our cast is fantastic in that respect and we’re just very fortunate.

Dark Matter Season 3, launches on Syfy UK with a double bill from 8pm on Monday 12  June, followed by After Dark a new fan show all about Dark Matter