Are you a Marvel fan? Then you should be watching Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger on Freeform. There is a reason that the show had the biggest series debut on Freeform in over two years. It’s that good. Each episode pulls you in and gets better every week. We sat down with the creator and showrunner Joe P0kaski, Tandy’s mom Melissa, played by Andrea Roth, Tyrone’s father Mr. Johnsen, played by Miles Mussenden, and the VP of Marvel TV programming, Tom Lieber to talk all things Marvel Cloak and Dagger!
Thank you, Disney and Marvel, for allowing me to attend the press event for Cloak and Dagger. All Marvel opinions are my own!
- Choosing New Orleans – New Orleans has a feeling that is very “Cloak and Dagger” says Creator, Joe Pokaski. It’s a city that feels like it has a history that is older than the country because of the people who moved there. They brought on some writers that were very familiar with New Orleans, so they were able to dig into things like Vodun and the Mardi Gras Indians. “The more we learned about New Orleans, the more we were surprised that Cloak and Dagger weren’t there the whole time,” Joe Pokaski said.
- Leaving the door open to crossovers – While Joe Pokaski is always open to crossovers between the characters, it’s up to the executives. He did mention that Cloak and Dagger, in the comic book version “are the ultimate crossover characters because they show up in any book and you’re pleasantly surprised.”
- Family is tough – Tandy and Tyrone have both experienced the loss of a family member, and it affects the family dynamic with their parents. When you look at the relationship Tandy and her mom Melissa have you realize how true the quote that Joe Pokaski mention is in the case of these two characters. “The hardest part of a woman’s life is when she is 16 and when her daughter is 16.” Without spoiling future episode Joe eludes that the “mother’s arc is one of the most secretly heroic and will get pretty raw and real, but what she did for Tandy is pretty impressive,” Joe Pokaski said. Andrea Roth is the mother of an 8-year-old so parenting a teen is a new experience for her but she loves working with Olivia Holt. When asked about Miles’ character as Tyrone’s father and the disconnect between them he says, “there is some level of PTSD I think when you have these types of things that happen to a family. It just never goes away. It’s something under the rug, and we struggle to deal with it head-on. There is definitely something there that needs to be worked out.”
- Diversity behind the scenes – Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger hits on current issues that need to be addressed and Tom Lieber comments that “the Marvel comics have always been used as a prism to make commentary and from day one Joe was not afraid of diving right into issues. He put together a very well balanced writers room, both in terms of gender and ethnicity. He put together an incredible team of directors that is very balanced in terms of gender and ethnicity. Joe really wanted to write people in place with differing perspectives to that we could tackle things like that and do it in a responsible way,” Tom Lieber said.
- Amazing music – Joe Pokaski talks about how the music department is amazing and how the songs lift up the scenes sometimes. I always find my toe tapping while I’m watching Cloak and Dagger. They find amazing new artists to fit every scene perfectly. The mixes Luke Cage and Stranger things. They KNOW what they’re doing!
- Worth the wait – Joe Pokaski tells us that the Cloak and Daggers pilot was written about five years ago it was written originally for ABC Family (before it was changed to Freeform) about 10 minutes after Marvel was bought by Disney. Joe worked on Daredevil for Netflix to make it gritty and they liked the direction it was going and thought it was time to bring it to Freeform.
- Easter eggs – Joe Pokaski loves to tweet during the show and sometimes it is little tidbits that we should pay close attention to. Marvel always have these layers to their shows and movies that tie the whole MCU together even in the smallest ways. That’s what keep fans excited about watching. Other shows like Luke Cage are mentioning New Orleans. “It makes it rewarding for the viewer, even on the third watch,” Joe Pokaski says.
Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger airs Thursdays at 8:00|7:00c on Freeform
Lots of great information here.Makes me want to dig up my old Cloak and Dagger comics before the next episode airs.
Ooooh I’d love to read those!!!