If a Shadowhunters episode has ever left you feeling devastated, giddy, and borderline manic for the next, chances are you’ve been ‘Binswangered.’
For those unfamiliar with Peter Binswanger, he is the man responsible for penning Season 1’s snappy NYPD mini-heist, “Major Arcana,” and Jace’s vengeful hunt for Hodge and Valentine in the finale, “Morning Star.” So far this season, he’s served the bromance heartbreaker, “Parabatai Lost,” and the chaotic precursor to 2A’s winter finale, “Bound by Blood.” All four episodes are vastly different from one another, which makes his writing style unpredictably affecting. To quote the famous film Forrest Gump, Peter’s episodes are like ‘a box of chocolates.’ When his name is attached to a script, you really do not know what you’re gonna get.
We got the chance to ask Peter about his work on Shadowhunters, where he provided us insight into some of the joys, quirks, and challenges of being a part of the writers’ room. See our interview below!
What was your very first impression of Shadowhunters?
I’ve been on Shadowhunters since the very beginning before it was even a show. I had worked with Ed Decter on a few shows prior to Shadowhunters, so when he was hired to write the pilot, he brought me along to help. I remember reading the first book and immediately being excited about getting to work on a fantasy show. Cassie had created such a cool world, and I couldn’t wait to help bring it to life in TV form.
What kind of stories or experiences are you inspired by, and how are you incorporating that into your writing on the show?
Ultimately, what I’m most interested in is the characters. My entire goal as a TV writer is to put interesting characters in interesting situations. Sometimes they’ll be working together and other times they’ll be fighting against each other, but hopefully, you should be able to understand where all the characters are coming from. My favorite stories are the ones where you can’t always make up your mind who you’re rooting for. There are no good guys or bad guys, everybody is just shades of gray.
What scene has been the most challenging for you to write, and why was it difficult?
The hardest scenes to write are always the scenes with four or more characters in them. You never want a character just standing around not saying anything, but when there’s too many characters in one scene it can sometimes happen. I try to avoid this as much as possible.
Which character do you enjoy writing for the most?
Probably Simon? As someone who was once a nerdy Jewish teenager myself, I feel like we have a lot in common. That said, I also have a ton of fun writing Jace for the exact opposite reason. Jace and I are nothing alike, but I kinda wish we were. Jace is a very Han Solo-esque character, so getting to write towards that kind of swagger is a lot of fun as well.
You guys get to be on set while they are filming the episode you’ve written. What sort of thing goes through your mind when you’re watching your writing become live action? And what scene of yours were you most excited to see play out?
Being on set is pretty awesome. Great actors elevate the material that they’re working on, and it feels pretty great to be the benefactor of that elevation. Every episode, there’s a scene that surprises me by turning out way better than it was in my head. I’m never sure which scene it’s going to be, but those scenes are always the ones that I’m most excited to see play out.
Has there been any particular scene you’ve written that ended up drastically evolving in the script to screen process?
Totally. Pretty much anytime there’s a fight scene, it evolves quite a bit from script to screen. Usually, I’ll just write something really basic like, ‘Jace throws a punch at Valentine. Valentine dodges.’ At which point, our awesome stunt coordinator, Darren McGuire, will take that and come up with something completely insane. Then I’ll take his idea and write it into the draft.
Other times, changes have more to do with a particular location. When you’re writing something in your head, you can imagine the layout of the room however you want to, but often times, you’ll arrive to the location and it won’t be exactly how it is in the script. It’s the director’s job to preserve the essence of the scene, even if the choreography doesn’t exactly match what’s written.
What kind of scenes do you enjoy writing the most? Action? Comedy? Romance?
Comedy for sure. I love the action and romance, too, but even when I’m writing those scenes, I find myself constantly trying to infuse them with comedy. When the time comes for a scene to be completely serious, it carries a lot more weight because it can be juxtaposed against the lighter tone of the episode.
In a creative environment, ideas get bounced around and things can get a little crazy. What has been the most bizarre pitch you’ve made in the writers’ room? And what have you pitched that made it into the show that you’re really pleased about?
Not sure what the most bizarre thing I’ve ever pitched was, but one of the goofier ideas that ended up making it into the show was in Season 1 when Simon pretended to be the demonic murderer and Luke ‘shot him to death.’
You, sir, have a knack for being unpredictable in your writing. We never really know what we’re in for when it comes to you. What do you think makes an episode a ‘Peter Binswanger’ episode?
Ha. That’s a good question. I’d like to think a ‘Peter Binswanger’ episode is one that is constantly walking the line between comedy and drama. I feel like my ideal episode would be about 75 percent fun, jokey banter/25 percent dark WTF, OMG moments. I’m a huge fan of violent ’80s action movies, cheesy horror movies, and pretty much every Pixar movie ever made. Anything that has a lot of heart but doesn’t always take itself so seriously – stuff like the Princess Bride, Star Wars, and Evil Dead 2.
Basically, if there was a way to combine all of that into one episode, that would probably be my perfect TV show…I’m not sure I’ve figured out how to do it just yet, but I’ll get there eventually.
The editing down process I imagine can be hard at times. Is there a scene or a line that was deleted that you really wish had made the cut?
All the time. There was a whole subplot that got lifted from episode 2×03, where Izzy was teaching Clary about tracking. Clary had to wear a blindfold and sense Izzy’s movements without actually seeing her. It was a very kung fu movie kinda scene that was really fun to write, but sadly, it never made it to camera. In the end, it was probably for the best that it got cut, because all of the Parabatai stuff that we ended up shooting for that episode turned out really well. It’s never fun to cut scenes, but the scenes that do get cut typically get cut for a good reason.
Is there anything in particular that you would like the chance to explore in your writing on the show?
Hmm. There’s a ton of stuff I’d like to explore, but nothing that specifically stands out. Maybe a little more of Valentine’s softer side? The best villains are always the ones that aren’t completely evil.
To end, describe 2B for us using three words.
Best. Episodes. Yet.
Shadowhunters returns Monday, June 5th 8/7c on Freeform, and Tuesday, June 6th internationally on Netflix.
