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Bryan Fuller: How Pushing Daisies ends—and how it was supposed to end
Prolific executive producer and television show creator Bryan Fuller admits he's a little frustrated that he didn't get to do everything he wanted to do with the final three episodes of the ABC series Pushing Daisies, which premiere beginning this Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
"One of the things that people ask is how do you wrap up the Chuck and Ned story, and for me, there was one ending, and that ending was decades later, and I couldn't really quite rush their story to any sort of conclusion," Fuller told SCI FI Wire in an exclusive interview on Friday. "Even if I knew that the series was coming to an end when we were doing the last episode, I don't know if I would have been able to end the Chuck and Ned story because, for me, that's the relationship that goes on and that you fight for." (Spoilers ahead!)
The producers did have a plan, but that plan didn't include getting canceled in their second season after 13 episodes, Fuller said. "The unfortunate thing about how we were breaking the season was that we were taking a break from the Chuck and Ned central storyline for three episodes to tell an Olive story, to tell an Emerson story, to tell a Lily/Vivian story," Fuller said. "And then with episode 14, open back up the whole thing with Chuck's father and Ned's father in a bigger way that was going to be our arc of the back nine of the season, ... but we ended up not getting a back nine. So, in an unfortunate way, those elements of Chuck's father and Ned's father and the pocket watches, that story is the story that's going to be continued in the comic book. So we'll understand all about that, but the three episodes that are about to air I'm really excited about."
Pushing Daisies is a fantasy series about a pie maker named Ned who can bring the dead back to life and a girl named Chuck whom he loves but can never touch. The fanciful mystery series opened to good ratings in its first season only to run into the writers' strike. ABC renewed it for a second season, which never managed to recapture the early ratings. The last episode, "The Norwegians," aired in mid-December 2008, with the final three episodes left to air.
Premiering tonight, "Window Dressed to Kill," offers up something special, Fuller said. "It's a great episode for Kristin Chenoweth, [who plays Olive]. We get to see her sing again and hear her sing again, which is more important," he added with a laugh.
According to Fuller, the episode is a bit of an "unofficial sequel to Savannah Smiles. ... We kind of did a haiku version." The '80s movie was about a little girl who two petty thieves discover is hiding in a car they've stolen. In the Pushing Daisies version, Olive is at the center of the events in her own Savannah type story, he said.
"So we retell that story in a way, and then the modern-day story is those two guys just broke out of prison, and they're looking for Olive Snook, and we realize that Olive has to pose in a relationship with the pie maker, which brings up all of their issues very quickly to the forefront," Fuller said. "And the pie maker has to pretend to be in love with Olive and engaged to marry her, and that causes a lot of issues. We have George Segal and Richard Benjamin playing the kidnappers."
Diana Scarwid, whom we saw in the first three episodes of the season, returns as Mother Superior. The producer added: "The whole idea for this episode at the time was 'Oh, we gotta get Diana back in there so we can set up her arc in the back nine as well, because we were going to do all this stuff back at the nunnery.' We were going to start the season at the nunnery and end the season at the nunnery in big stories. But we didn't get to do any of that."
The second episode, which airs on June 6, is called "Water and Power," Fuller said. "It's an Emerson story, and this is where we get to talk about all of his backstory with his missing daughter," he said. "We meet his baby mama, who is played by Gina Torres, who is fantastic in the role, and really, it's Chinatown. ... I really wanted to do a classic detective noir with primarily African-American characters and tell that fun story, and so, really, it's about how Emerson had the child, lost the child, and the scams and skulduggery that were all associated with his having his daughter and losing his daughter. We get a little hope for him being able to see his daughter again in the future. So it's really a great Emerson episode. It's a wonderful show for Chi McBride. He's just magnificent in it."
The series finale, "Kerplunk," which premieres June 13, is a Lily/Vivian story about showgirls set at an aquacade. "You have Lily and Vivian facing off against their rivals, who are played by Wendie Malick and Nora Dunn, and it's Showgirls," Fuller said. "So there's all of the secrets and the backbiting and everything that we've been cultivating of the secret of Lily and her being Chuck's mother and how all of that went down. ... So 'Kerplunk' is really wrapping up that whole mystery side of the story and the relationship between Lily and Vivian and what happened between them that caused Lily to sleep with her sister's fiance and have a child by him and lie about everything and run off to a nunnery."
Fuller said he's disappointed the final episodes don't adequately wrap up the Chuck and Ned story. "I was sort of like, 'Oh! G-d damn it! I wanted to give Chuck and Ned a better sendoff,'" he said. "But, in the time allotted, I really don't think there was the real estate to tell a satisfying story for them. So we ended up, ... for the finale, we see how everything comes full circle with the pilot, but it was tough, because you had to make choices of 'OK, whose story do we tell here?' and 'What is the most satisfying story that we can tell that has some semblance of closure to it?' We really felt that that story, ultimately, in the end, was about Chuck dying and getting her life back, a life that she had been sort of secretly forced not to engage in because the pie maker. ... His ability couldn't be exposed."
The second season DVD comes out in July, and the first issue of the Pushing Daisies comic book will come out in the fall. Twelve issues are planned in the series, "and then in success, we would do more," he said.
Fuller said the comic book is in the works right now. "We've arced it out. The dangling threads from the series with Chuck's father and Ned's father and the pocket watches are all dealt with, not secondarily, but there's a whole new story that happens when there is a flash flood in the cemetery and all the bodies wash past Ned, and it's Ned versus a thousand corpses. That's the story of the comic book."
As for the movie, Fuller admits it's a bit of a "pipe dream. A lot of things need to happen and align for that to happen, but I would love to turn the comic book into a movie, because I think the story is a lot of fun, and it speaks to a bigger, broader canvas than we were able to do on television."
In the meantime, Fuller, who also created Wonderfalls, will keep himself busy as one of the creative forces behind Heroes, which premieres its fourth season on NBC this fall with "Volume 5: Redemption."
By bamberluvr at 8:11 AM ON 05/30/09
It's so sad...Bryan Fuller is amazingly talented, but he and his shows constantly get the shaft.
By Rita at 11:19 AM ON 05/30/09
Yeah, it was such a shame! It would be so good if someone picked up the series again and Fuller could do the full work! As a viewer and someone who ordered the season 2 dvd even before it got out (having received it and watched it already) I must say I was really left feeling a bit frustrated for all the questions left unanswered :( mainly the story around Ned's father, why he left, what was the thing with the watches and so on...I'm really sad about it...what a shame :( I know it wouldn't bring all the magic to life but what about a book? :)
By Megs at 12:15 PM ON 05/30/09
I absolutely loved this show... :(
Bryan Fuller is so talented, and i wish more people could recognize it. Personally, i think one of the reasons PD failed was because of poor advertising after the Writers Strike. I'm so happy they're at least airing 3 more episodes. Wish a cable network or something would have picked up the show; it was too special to be on regular TV!
By MadKat at 1:07 PM ON 05/30/09
Wasn't there supposed to be an episode that was shot this season that was an unofficial cross-over with "Wonderfalls"?
By Ian A. at 2:02 PM ON 05/30/09
MadKat,
Yes, "Comfort Food" was that episode. In it, Ned and Olive attended a bake-off and competed against Beth Grant's Marianne Marie Beetle from the "Muffin Buffalo" episode of Wonderfalls.
By mykl at 2:27 PM ON 05/30/09
I just wish NBC would let this show live on their network as a thanks for Fuller and his hard work trying to correct the lost ship that is “Heroes”. I hate reading about people saying there is nothing good or original on TV yet this comes out and the networks claim they listen to the audience and just keep giving the shaft to the great shows and leave us with reality shows with has been celebrities, singers nobody cares about and fat asses who just need to diet and get over it.
By n8vdude at 5:45 PM ON 05/30/09
Yet another superbly written and produced dramedy bites the dust. I am so sad to see it go. Like 'Dead Like Me' this show dealt with a morbid subject in was that were as enlightening as they were entertaining. Mr. Fuller and crew are a class act, bar none, but alas, it is the schlock that wins the day. Our little beloved story must end it's tale now. I know I am buying the comics... I can't wait to see how it all pans out.
By Mandy at 6:38 PM ON 05/30/09
Wadoko, I thought Scifi wire was better at keeping out trollish behaviour. Clearly you never watched this show at all if you think there's necrophilia involved. This was a good, very surreal show.
By CRDFilm at 6:54 PM ON 05/30/09
It's a cryin' shame! If ABC had rerun the first season during the writers strike down time or during the summer leading up to the second season, it may have stood a chance. ABC is squarely to blame for this!
By joyce at 7:03 PM ON 05/30/09
Pushing Daisies was one of my very favorite shows from the very beginning. It is so entertaining and fun to watch ... I love all the characters. I just can't understand why the good shows are cancelled. Three of my "can't ever miss" shows have been cancelled and really stupid ones are replacing them. I wonder what lurks in the minds of the studio execs who make the decisions.????
I loved the article and Bryan Fuller's discussion. He is a great writer and I wish he could continue with "Daisies" on another network. I know we all would follow wherever it might be. Please
By Julian at 11:25 PM ON 05/30/09
It is unfortunate that the ABC tv series "Pushing Daisies" is ending after its few last episodes. It could not recover the audience that it once had after the writers' strike. I enjoyed watching it for its offbeat stories, quirky characters and great photography. I enjoyed tonight's episode especially for its homage to comic books with references to the piemaker thinking of himself as Clark Kent/Superman, his dead -come-back -to life girlfriend naming herself a sidekick to the private dick as well as referring to herself as a dead-come -back-to-life -avenger coming to right the wrong of murdered individuals and becoming an investigator for the occasion (Do you not love that genre plot where persons who are not warriors, detectives and such play the roles? I do.) and the use of the words "Super Powers". Funny thing though; "Pushing Daisies" may no longer appear on tv but it may very well live on in comic book format.
Ressssssssuuuurection?
By Joe B. at 1:24 AM ON 05/31/09
It's unfortunate they are going to "continue" the story in a comic book. That just won't work for me. And I certainly won't buy it. Most of the enjoyment of the show was the banter between the characters and the narrator. That will totally be lost in a comic book. If the story is going to be wrapped up properly, they really need to do the movie idea they were tossing around.
By Krissi D at 2:52 AM ON 05/31/09
I just love Bryan Fuller's work, and as one poster mentioned, he seems to always create these wonderful, well-written, quirky shows and then they get canceled (while the networks complain they're losing audiences). Well hell, it's hard to fully commit to a wonderful show when you know some idiot network exec is just going to cancel it. Wake up NBC, ABC, FOX, and CBS.
I have both seasons of Dead Like Me, the one season, of Wonderfalls, and now I'll have two seasons of Pushing Daisies, so at least I have good memories of three brilliant but canceled series.
By zootie at 7:24 AM ON 05/31/09
Clever stories and overall upbeat show that will be missed. The TV industry complains that its losing the battle against Internet and video games and other activities, and keeps pushing reality drivel, and cancelling shows like PD. Yes, it is a business, and the model isn’t to put up quality content, but primarily to sell eyeballs to advertisers, but the way to measure a show’s success is outdated and can’t account for quality show that brings a following and helps build in a stable audience a over time (rather than cycles of growth and bust that can last years). Over time, the overall audience is shrinking because people are getting tired of being jerked around every 6 months, and just turn off their TVs because they can’t stand most of what is available. You have to cultivate your viewership and buildup your lineup: novelty for novelty’s sake wears out, and there are other options. I’m an avid TV watcher, but it’s gotten to the point that I avoid watching shows until they make it to a second season (after all, I can store them in my DVR or get DVDs if I decide they are worth it – but most of the time, I end up passing on network TV altogether, and going for cable shows and online)…
By TVDIVA at 3:08 PM ON 05/31/09
Pushing Daisies was never a spinoff of Wonderfalls. It was supposed to be a spinoff from Dead Like Me - an idea for a story about George that Fuller came up with.
But how lucky are we that it spun off into Pushing Daisies. I hate ABC for cutting off Pushing Daisies before they had a chance to wrap up the story. At least we will have the comic books to finish it out.
Too bad we cannot say the same for Eli Stone.
By Pixel at 4:31 PM ON 05/31/09
Having seen the final three episodes, which have already aired in Britain, I can say that the show ends in terrific style, and has lost none of the wit, energy, indiviuality and ingenuity which made it so special.
While the comics certainly won't be a replacement, I am looking forward to any chance to spend more time with my friends from the Pie Hole.
By PDaisy at 5:41 PM ON 05/31/09
CRDFilm You are right on the money with your assertion. That was my feeling, too, as to why Pushing Daisies could not catch on again after the writer's strike.
By Radioman at 8:27 PM ON 05/31/09
Yet again the TV channels have got it wrong, the ratngs aren't great in the first three minutes of the show so quick cancell it! When will they learn from the backlashes they've copped in the past. Cancelling Star Trek, a mstake, caneclling Frefly, a mstake cancelling Stargate Atlantis, a mstake. Hell they even came close to canning Seinfeld early on.
The Sci-Fi channel is the worst for it, just when SG1 had new life breathed into it they killed a new good thing.
Show some patience for a change, Pushing Dasies is a fun, different, imaginative show that's well worth continuing, by killing it they're throwing ther money away while yet agan disregardng the feelings of their customers, the viewer. We've had enough of reality shows, Lost, 24, Boobwatch (Baywatch) and other such rubbish, gve us something entertaining, somethng lke Pushing Daisies perhaps!?
By Russell22 at 1:29 PM ON 06/01/09
Never really saw the attraction in this show..it looked good and was all very charming but the stories left a lot to be desired. I like Bryan fuller,i think he's a talented guy but this show just left me cold. It was never particulary funny either. I guess the viewers spoke who turned off in droves. Here in the u.k people initially liked it then just got bored with it..it least Fuller's back on Heroes now !
By Adam at 5:06 PM ON 06/07/09
No more faint praise, excuses or shilly-shallying. What a load of old crap that last episode was, or should I say, the last breathless 60 seconds of it.
This was a very unfortunate way to go out and wind things up; instead of tying up loose ends as best they could, given the show's cancellation, to my mind they screwed up the whole show, series 1 and 2 with such a cack-handed, ill-considered and hoplesely deficient "closing". It pleased nobody here, I can think of a dozen better ways to have ended PD without damaging the goodwill of the loyal fanbase or wrecking the enjoyment which these viewers had had up until those 60 seconds of madness. Who could possibly have thought that winding it up this way would work in any kind of way! I feel so cheated.
By itsjustme at 2:15 PM ON 06/08/09
Brilliant, too brilliant it seems.
Man kills what it does not understand.
By seannmc at 1:46 AM ON 06/14/09
Tonight was the showing of the final episode.
There's a quote in the movie "Just You and Me, Kid", staring George Burns and a very young Brooke Shields. George's character says something to the effect of "People like mediocrity. They have come to expect it, and they are never dissapointed."
The quote certainly seems to fit in situations such as the cancelation of Pushing Daisies.
Too bad that Bryan Fuller couldn't do the "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog" thing to preserve the video format.
By ThePit at 8:04 PM ON 06/14/09
The ending was very well done. I look forward to reading the comic!
By csc at 9:56 PM ON 08/09/09
I've been watching the 2nd season on DVD...I miss this show!! It is so out of the ordinary and very entertaining. What a great cast and how wonderful their characters!! I loved Swoozie Kurtz! I so wish you could bring it back...so much fun to watch!
By MK at 2:14 AM ON 08/10/09
I am such a big fan of this show. It's unfortunate, just as previously stated, that such a wonderful show had to be given the boot just because the majority of mindless viewers who tune in to reality shows had no liking for Pushing Daisies, which resulted in low ratings.
This was only one of the few good things left on television. TV shows just got a little less charming.
If only Ned's powers could resurrect this show and bring it back to life for a new season. It could take the place of America's Got Talent or any other reality show...
RIP Pushing Daisies. :(
By AY at 4:22 PM ON 12/05/09
This is one of the best shows I have ever watched. I am soooo sad it is gone. I really hope that they will have a come back somehow!
By manby at 12:22 PM ON 01/09/10
Did the comic ever come out? Where can I find it?
By Terry K. at 5:00 PM ON 01/17/10
I really did enjoy this show. I hope Brian Fuller the best in his career. I miss Olive, Ned and all the charcters of this show. I have both season's on dvd so that I could see them whenever I get ready. Just like a MLK gone too soon.
By Lucky13thFaerie at 3:51 PM ON 01/27/10
I am soooo excited about the comics and hopefully the movie if it happens!!! I love the show, I finally got season 2 for this past Christmas. I really hate when the shows I love end up being cancelled. The networks finally air unique shows unlike all these generic cop, hospital, lawyer and teen drama shows then they cancel them. Its ridiculous!! Just like "Dead Like Me" then recently with the show "Eastwick", they get cancelled too, more shows unlike the rest. I wish they would get rid of some of the crap shows out there and keep the great ones!!!
It's just so frustrating for us who like shows out of the ordinary, it makes you want to not even watch any tv!!!
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Lucky13thFaerie:
I am soooo excited about the comics and hopefully the movie if it happens!!! I love the show, I finally got season ...More »