‘Will Trent’ Bosses Tease What’s Next for Will, Amanda & More in Season 4

Will Trent returns for its much-anticipated fourth season on Tuesday, January 6, and TV Insider has some exclusive scoop on what fans can expect to see as the ABC crime drama continues.

“We’re playing with Will coming a little bit undone in ways both dramatic and funny,” previews executive producer Liz Heldens of the procedural’s title character (Ramón Rodríguez) in Season 4.

Audiences can also expect a big spotlight on Will’s beloved chihuahua, Betty, as well as resolutions of finale cliffhangers, like Georgia Bureau of Investigation boss Amanda’s (Sonja Sohn) condition after a shooting left her critical: “She’s going to survive this, but it’s going to take a very visible toll [on her],” teases executive producer Daniel T. Thomsen.

Meanwhile, Atlanta homicide detective Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) battles a brain tumor, while his partner, Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), adjusts to her pregnancy with boyfriend Dr. Seth (Scott Foley). EP Karine Rosenthal says Angie will be “maturing in ways that are unexpected to her.”

Read on for our full Q&A with the co-showrunners for Will Trent Season 4.

What is the tone of this season?

Liz Heldens: The tone of the season is we’re playing a little bit with Will coming a little bit undone in ways both dramatic and funny. And so that is something we’re exploring this season, for sure. And the tone, as always, is a mix of very emotional drama, high stakes, and some humor. The cast is so nimble with comedy and drama. So that’s been one of the most fun things about the show for the whole run.

Last season, that disco dance hallucination became a highlight of the entire series. Are you hoping to kind of top that with some kind of theatrical over-the-top shenanigans?

Heldens: I don’t know if we can top that. I don’t know if we could…. We always find some whimsy on the show. And there’s some really show-stopping reconstructions coming up that we’re very excited about.

Karine Rosenthal: I think rather than topping it, we just have to push ourselves to think different, exciting, and surprising, and very much our show, but something new we haven’t done before.

We left off with Amanda having been shot. What can you say about the journey ahead for that character?

Daniel T. Thomsen: She’s going to survive this, but it’s going to take a very visible toll, which is kind of interesting… Amanda, for the first three seasons, has been very much defined by how together she is at all times. She doesn’t come to the office unless she’s ready to go. And now she’s not going to be able to do that, and so it’s going to be interesting to see how she adapts to that. And also, I think it’s a story about somebody who is feeling like, as much as she’s accomplished in her life, it’s always like, “What have you done lately?” And there’s people who want her job. There’s people who want her place in the world.

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Anyone we know?

Heldens: No, we’re introducing the character. And then yeah, with both Amanda and Ormewood, we wanted to challenge ourselves to show the ripples and the repercussions of being so severely wounded in the line of duty and what it means to have brain surgery and chemo… He’s defined himself by being masculine and capable, and that’s kind of his thing, and they’re both kind of diminished, and we’ve had fun playing with that pairing later in the season, and so we’re really excited by the work that both of those actors have done this season.

We also left off Season 3 with Angie deciding to have her baby with the doctor. What can we expect from her journey this season?

Rosenthal: I think we’re going to see Angie growing and maturing in ways that are unexpected to her, and I think we’re going to see her kind of coming into her own with a certain amount of confidence that the fact that she’s actually taking this step, something she never thought she would do, kind of the power that that gives her. And we’re also going to see her continuing to do her job and adapt to the physical differences of being pregnant and doing her job and remaining strong as she’s doing that and trying not to panic about how this is going to change everything about her life once the baby is not just being carried around in her stomach.

Heldens: And her relationship with Scott Foley’s Dr. Seth character, they’re just wonderful together. I think you really buy in, and it is exciting to see her pregnant with the stomach out to here, but still functioning on the job, and so, yeah, it’s really exciting as we kind of head toward the birth of this baby.

We also see that her friend-slash-partner, Franklin, played by Kevin Daniels, got a boost to full-time this season. Can you just talk about the decision to elevate that character this time?

Heldens: Because we love him. [Laughs.] He’s so funny. He brings such a different, unique feel to the show. I mean, we would have used him a lot more last year, and then we just thought, “Oh, we could just have him be more into the fabric of the show, more involved in cases,” and I’m very excited for the first episode, when you see his first interrogation. We’re really excited for people to see that.

You mentioned that Will is going to have a little bit of unraveling. Does his father have something to do with that?

Heldens: In the first episode, Margaret Cho as Dr. Roach, his therapist, says, “It’s normal for some anger to come up during therapy,” and I think that’s kind of true. It’s like, he’s sort of facing his past and … looking at why things happen, and he’s having some emotions about that. And this is a character that is used to not examining and going forward and to doing his job. He emerged from a very abusive past, by some miracle, being this deeply good man, and I think he’s done that by ignoring some feelings and not allowing himself to think about what might have been, any regret, and now that he’s doing that, it’s just some stuff is coming up and, behaviorally, it’s been fun exploring that … in both ways that are fun and comedic and a little bit darker.

Does that include any flashbacks? Are we gonna see more of his childhood?

Heldens: That’s a good question. We have ambition to. Yes.

Thomsen: Yul [Vasquez] will be back, though. His father will be active, and I think it’s just a matter of Will, now that he’s got his father, realizing that his father is not always going to live up to his expectations, but that they can still love each other, and have space for each other in their lives.

Heldens: … find a way to relate to one another.

Another hallmark of Will Trent that’s kind of come along is the crossovers and the celebrity cameos. I was wondering if you had any plans for that for Season 4?

Thomsen: No, not yet. I will say, when we had Ariana [Madix] on last year, it was conceived as kind of a one-off. That said, it really worked well. It kind of turned out to be a really nice episode for Ormewood, and she did such a fantastic job coming onto the show and bringing some energy, and people liked the episode. So I would not rule it out, but right now, we don’t have any big cameos planned.

What can we expect from Faith, Nico, and Betty?

Thomsen: Betty has her biggest moment of the series.

Heldens: Yeah, we’re gonna get a little bit of Betty’s inner life. She remains kind of the heart and soul of the show in many ways, like Will’s kind of precious little darling rock. And Nico, Cora is such a wonderful presence on the show. And Faith is going to have some great stuff coming up. She’s got a big romance coming up that involves a case, and so we’re going to live through that with her. And Iantha Richardson is directing an episode this season, so that’s really exciting. And Ramon’s directing, too.

Will Trent, Season Premiere 8/7c, ABC

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