I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Merritt Patterson about her role as Olivia Matheson on ABC Family’s new spooky drama, Ravenswood. Even though we’re very early on in the new spooky series, one thing is certain: the mystery is only getting started.
We chatted with Merritt about her character Olivia, the twists and turns of the Pretty Little Liars spin-off, and what viewers can expect from her and her character in these first few episodes.
Check out our interview with Merritt Patterson:
Your character seems to have her own set of mysteries and a story line that is separate from the rest of the group. What can you tease about what viewers can expect from your character in these first few episodes?
Merritt Patterson: Olivia’s kind of in a different social bracket at the beginning of the show, which is why I think she’s a little bit more separate; but obviously, as the curse continues and they continue to find out more, she’s brought together with the other four. She continues to do research on her father’s murder, and she also has a supernatural experience for herself coming up, which is pretty exciting; so I’m looking forward to both those events.
As a spin-off of ABC Family’s extremely successful series Pretty Little Liars, Ravenswood appears to be more supernatural and even scarier than the other series on the network. Can fans and viewers expect the same twists and turns that Pretty Little Liars is famous for? Do you personally enjoy those elements?
Merritt: Definitely, yes! I think that’s what’s really great about our show and what’s similar to Pretty Little Liars — are the cliffhangers, twists and turns. So you can definitely expect lots of those; and I love that. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and it keeps it interesting. I’m excited, and I think people will respond well to that.
Also revealed on the conference call:
Do you think the subtle sparks between Miranda and Caleb will put a strain on Hanna and Caleb’s relationship?
Merritt: Yes, I think it will. I think the fact that he is in a different town, that would put a strain on any relationship. Miranda and Caleb are very similar. Their characters are very similar, so they get along really well right off the bat, which could be taken wrong from someone else, especially in a different town.
Will Hanna be visiting Ravenswood often?
Merritt: She doesn’t during the beginning. They definitely do keep in contact, it’s mainly over phone conversations, so she is in some of our episodes, but not in person; not yet.
What is Olivia’s relationship like with her brother?
Merritt: I think their relationship right now is strained. I think the whole family is strained. They’re going through a lot with the murder of their father, and her mom has been hiding out. She’s obviously struggling, and I think Luke deals with it by being very angry. I don’t think he knows how to deal with it; neither does Olivia, but she’s trying to pretend like everything’s okay. I don’t know if it has fully hit her yet, but I think their relationship is very strained because of that. She doesn’t understand Luke’s process and how he’s dealing with the events. There’s some miscommunication there, but ultimately they’re twins. They’re family and they love each other and they’ll always have each other’s back. I think it’s like any relationship with siblings. I think it’s very up and down.
Can you tease a bit about the dynamic of the character relationships with one another?
Merritt: We all have stronger connections with different people. Olivia and her brother have a strong connection; and then Luke has a strong connection with Remy, because they’re dating. It’s a bit rough right now with their parents, but they have that. Remy and Caleb kind of bond, you see in the first episode that they’re immediately drawn together because they both want to find out more information on this curse. Then, obviously Caleb and Miranda have a connection, and they’re friends right off the bat. It’s like we each have a stronger connection with someone else in it. In the third episode, I build a stronger bond with Miranda, which was really exciting; I was happy for that. There’s a bit of a riff between Caleb and Luke, because Luke is very protective over myself and Remy. I don’t think he knows Caleb yet, so he doesn’t really know what to think of him. For the most part, we all get along, which is good, because we’re all going through this together.
Why do you think the town of Ravenswood is treating Olivia so bad after her father’s murder?
Merritt: The town of Ravenswood thinks that our mother killed our father, so the whole family is being ignored and hated. They think that our mom murdered our father and therefore we’re all connected to this murder. I think they’re just putting us out there on our own. Nobody really trusts or respects our mom, and therefore the kids are being painted that way as well.
What do you think it would take to get out from under the bad treatment from the town?
Merritt: I think Luke and Olivia are trying to figure out who murdered their father, because it doesn’t seem like the cops or anyone in the town is. They’re really pushing to find out who did it, so they start to take things into their own hands and they find clues along the way. Once the murderer is revealed, that will obviously help and make people realize.
Have there been times when you were actually scared or creeped out on set?
Merritt: Oh, for sure! The great thing about New Orleans is that it’s on location, and the locations here are amazing. There’s so much charm and history to this city. We’ve filmed a lot in a graveyard, which surprisingly isn’t that creepy, they’re really beautiful. We have filmed in an abandoned hospital and we heard stories that part of it was haunted. There was water dripping from the ceiling and people have heard footsteps. So there had definitely been a few times we were like, “Oh, did you hear that?” I’m sure we’re getting ourselves worked up, but it’s for sure on our minds.
We’d like to thank Merritt for taking the time to answer some questions for us! We really appreciate it.
Be sure to catch Ravenswood when it airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC Family.
You can follow Merritt Patterson on Twitter here: @MerrittPattrsn
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