By Kellie Freeze
No Tomorrow brings together two very different people just as the world is coming to an end — or so one of them believes. The CW’s charming romantic comedy (Tuesdays beginning Oct. 4) is a sunny twist on the end-of-the-world genre, and executive producer Corinne Brinkerhoff acknowledges, “There are plenty of ‘apocalyptic doom’ kind of shows, and we wanted an ‘apocalyptic joy’ kind of show.” The series hopes to turn the proverbial ticking clock from foreboding to freeing and Brinkerhoff challenges, “We all fundamentally know — on a gut level — that the clock is ticking and that there’s no guarantee of any time. What if you embrace that in a way that felt joyful and spontaneous as opposed to doom and gloom?”
Evie Callahan is a highly organized, risk-averse woman whose dull life gets turned upside down when she meets charming, free-spirited Xavier Holliday, who encourages Evie to “carpe that diem,” because he believes humankind has a mere eight months and 12 days until a runaway asteroid destroys Earth. Armed with Xavier’s Apocalyst — a checklist of things he wants to do before the world goes kaboom — Evie must decide whether she’s ready to follow his lead and live like there’s no tomorrow.
“She is stuck in a hell of a rut,” says Tori Anderson, who plays Evie. But the actress is quick to explain that just because Evie is opening herself to new experiences, she’s not ready to throw caution to the wind. “There’s a line where she says, ‘Maybe you helped me learn to seize the day, but I’ll be seizing it at my own pace, thank you very much.’” Anderson explains the pivotal moment for her normally careful and measured character. “I think his nudge is what really pushes her to that limit, and she’s going to grab life by the balls … hopefully.”
And as Evie learns to live each day to its fullest, her joy grows and spreads to all aspects of her life. “It’s the trickle-down effect,” explains Anderson. “She’s going to bring joy into other people’s lives and they’re going to start seeing their lives differently, which is what I hope the effect of this show is on other people.”
Playing the electric and eclectic quasi-prophet Xavier is British heartthrob Joshua Sasse. “He’s a dreamboat,” says Anderson of her costar, who recently delighted viewers as the charming knight Galavant on the ABC musical comedy of the same name. “He’s funny, and that’s what he shares with Xavier, totally. I think that’s what helps, is that we, as people, are quite different, and quite like our characters. Yes, he’s wildly magnetic. He tells these elaborate stories that I feel like I’ve never lived a life at all because he’s just — for lack of a better word — galavanting around the world.”
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