Welcome to the first edition of INTERVUE in 2021. This Friday, the second season of Dickinson will drop on Apple TV+. In the sophomore season of the series, Emily is pulled out of her private life and thrust into the public eye, while struggling with the sense that the pursuit of fame might be a dangerous game for her to play. 

I recently sat down with the cast & crew to reflect on their first season and what can the fans look forward to in the upcoming season. In our first set of interviews, I talk to Academy Award nominee, Executive Producer & Emily Dickinson herself – Hailee Steinfeld!  

What were some of your favorite moments of Season 1 of Dickinson?

I feel like jumping into the whole world of Dickinson and trying to sort of figure out what it was. This was the story of a show where I remember reading the first two episodes of Season 1 and that was my introduction into the world of the show. I felt that it was so different and so fresh and so unique that it had so many elements to it that were all in one that you would normally see on their own if you will.

This is something that sort of felt like for ten pages I was reading as a drama then the next we were a comedy then it’s obviously about the history and real people that existed. It’s taking all of these elements including her poetry obviously it’s the driving force of the show and it all results in this wild beautiful messy heart-breaking world of Dickinson.

The best part about making season one was finding exactly what it all was and now being able to dig a little deeper into season two has been a dream. I’m very excited that it’s coming up.

How did you find inspiration and strength from Dickinson’s story to carry over to your life?

Well in more ways than one, I found that between seasons one and two that the answer has sorta change with everything that we’ve gone through this year having been in isolation, having to play a character who in ways was in isolation and forced to remain creative and optimistic and positive because if she hadn’t she would have lost everything, her drive, and her passion.

I think that’s something that Alena Smith, our writer does so well. Somehow she almost sees into the future in that sense. She writes these unbelievable parallels that are so relevant to us and what we’re going through now and we get to see that that’s what they are going through then. A long long time ago as well. So it’s been amazing to see the progression and take away what I have in both seasons and sorta figure out what it means to me in my personal life.

How was your song Afterlife which was featured in the final episode of Season 1, was inspired by your work on the show?

So the crazy thing about Afterlife is that was a song that I worked on years ago before Dickinson and it kind of found its way to a folder of unfinished music. It was always been one of my favorite songs. It just never had the right home, I guess. When it came time to write the song or a song for the show, I went back to this folder of music because I had zero time to write it. We attempted a couple of times and it didn’t turn out very well.  So, I went into this folder and found Afterlife. It was sorta shocking to me how it felt like it was already so Emily inspired with the exception that we changed a few things around to make it feel a little more of, you know, the show. We threw in a couple of Easter eggs.

It was wild to see that Emily has had this influence on me without even knowing. I think her poetry has in songwriting generally speaking for other artists whether they know it or not. I think poetry serves that form as sort of inspiration but it was amazing when it came to writing that song or the other songs. It was just a matter of pulling up her poems and having so much come out of them. It was fun to be able to do that.

It was a brilliant masterpiece and we are looking forward to season 2. Stay tuned as our next interview in our Dickinson series we’ll focus on the creator/writer of the Dickinson, Alena Smith! The second season of Dickinson starts…. January 8th on Apple TV+

See you… out there!

About The Author

Dean Rogers

Editor-in-Chief/Entertainment Reporter

I knew early on that I wanted to take my place among the stars. One day, my mother saw me reading The Washington Post at a very young age. Who would have known that it would be the building blocks of my journey? Since that day, I dedicated my life to learn all that is learnable. I read everything from encyclopedias, to books, to dictionaries, to magazines. I’m also an avid consumer of television, with my favorite genre being game shows. If you’ve seen me on Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune, then you know that this interest has served me well!

My unique style of reporting began back in junior high school, when I started to chronicle the events that shaped my life. Whether it was the annual family vacation or the local science fiction convention, I shot numerous pictures and recorded my thoughts so I could truly appreciate the history. During my senior year at Friendly High, I wrote what was to be my first masterpiece, “Advanced Space Academy – A One Week Journey.” I sent the eleven-page article back to the U.S. Space Camp staff. The article was highly praised for being “one of the best written articles in the history of U.S. Space Camp.” From then on, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life — to be a reporter.

Since then, I have trained in Broadcast Journalism at Bowie State University (2008) in Bowie, MD earning a B.S. in Communications. I gained experience in news production and editing through field experiences with Bowie Community Media Corporation, Prince George’s Community Television, and Bowie State University Television. I also wrote scripts for a variety of quiz shows for over five years.

As a lifelong movie buff, I now see close to 100 films every year. I took this love of movies to the next step when I became a co-host for Eclipse Magazine TV in the fall of 2005. While at EMTV, I interviewed celebrities, worked red carpets, and attended a wide variety of movie screenings. In January 2009, I took a leap of faith and started my own entertainment news magazine, The Rogers Revue. Shortly afterward, my life-long journey of studying the silver screen and writing about what I learned finally earned me a place in the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

All of this has led me here, giving you the latest entertainment news for the DMV and the entire nation, and I am truly excited for whatever will come next.

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