Tom Lynch, Creator
South of Nowhere

Tom Lynch Interview 11/2/09

A while ago, when I set out to interview the creator of South of Nowhere, Tom Lynch, I didn’t really think I’d get a reply. I certainly didn’t expect him to say yes. However, now that I’ve talked to him, I realize that is exactly the kind of guy he is. He’s an incredible, genuine, passionate man, who loves his job and fans very much. His easygoing nature made our phone call seem less like an interview and more like a fun, laid-back conversation. I wish you all could’ve been there, but hopefully what you’re about to read will be the next best thing.

Tom just finished a pilot for Nickelodeon, which is kind of like his life as a child, a little bit. It’s a comedy about two kids in a surf culture. “It’s radically different from South of Nowhere,” he laughed. Tom’s production company just turned the pilot in, and they are waiting to see how it tests and how people respond to it. “It's fun. Anytime I can film at the beach, I’m happy.” When I asked him what the new pilot is called, he said, “Right now, it’s The Untitled Surf Show,” adding that, “he works backwards.” He waits for the story to develop before he names it.

Now, he’s writing a new pilot about the drug culture. “I think that will be a good look at the world of pharmaceuticals in the high school culture.”

Also, they launched The Troop on Nickelodeon, which is a monster hunting show for kids in high school. Tom described it as being like Men In Black. As always, please continue to show Tom your support by checking your local listings to find out when you can watch it. I assured him that the South of Nowhere fans would be fans of his, for life.

Then, Tom shared a little about what the fans mean to him. “The fans of South of Nowhere made me, in many dark times… I got so many letters saying how much I’ve helped them. They have no idea how much they’ve helped me by their courage and by their openness. You know, anytime I get a little lazy, or anytime I don’t want to quite work as hard, or life get’s overwhelming, I just think of those fans and the letters they’ve sent me, and it makes me stand up a little taller. It makes me want to work a little harder… .” He made it a point to ask me to let you know how grateful he is to all of you.

From there we transitioned into a little bit about what we’ve done on our site with the testimonials, and he mentioned a book he is working on which is like the history of the show. It will have pictures and letters that people have sent to him, photographs of the cast, and his stories of the making of the show. Also, he’s hoping to include pictures of some of the fans who were in the same situations that some of the characters were in. For him, it would be a way of taking that element of time and paying back the fans. He also said that he would like to have it out next year.

Next, we talked about his trip to Cannes, in the south of France, for his yearly trip to MIPCOM, which is an international television sales program. While there, he sold his shows like The Troop, and he talked to stations around the world about what’s coming up. Then, he checked up on past shows like South of Nowhere, which performs really well around the world. In fact, I shared with him something that our awesome webmaster Jacky told me one day. She said that on that particular day there were a large number of new member signups. We figured maybe it had just started airing in other countries. Tom’s response was “Fantastic!” Followed by informing me that it probably started airing throughout Europe because it’s usually a year or two behind what airs in the United States. “In South’s case, because it started with an initial order of eleven episodes…I don’t know if they were too sure if it was going to work or not,” he laughed.

Tom, went on to express his appreciation for The N, (which of course, is now Teen Nick.), and how being on the same network as Degrassi was a really good compliment to the show. “There was no other network other than The N at that time that would have done the show.”

He also talked about how The CW tackles a lot of the same storylines, and South Of Nowhere probably made it a little easier for ABC Family to pick up The Secret Life of the American Teenager and to deal with some of the sexual issues. I let Tom know about things that I’ve seen in shows that I thought probably wouldn’t have happened if South hadn't paved the way. He responded by talking about how 90210 has some of the same elements that South started with. For instance, they had a family move from a similar area to the same type of area, as well as the fact that an African-American was adopted into a white family. “People would ask me…they’d say, Tommy, they’re stealing from you. I’d say, no they’re not, its evolution, it’s all evolution. It’s just a good idea…If it helped other people, so be it. No problem.”

I thought it was interesting that he mentioned 90210, because Mandy Musgrave, who played Ashley, has booked a guest spot on the show. Tom had not yet heard this news so his reaction was one of surprise and happiness.

“Fantastic…Awesome! Mandy Musgrave is without question, is the reason I made South Of Nowhere… . When I saw her read for that show, the whole show made sense for me…When I saw her playing the role of Ashley, it just crystallized in my mind, like oh my God, this is fantastic.”

He went on to discuss what it was like seeing Mandy read with Gabby (Gabrielle Christian, who played Spencer). “She did the pilot, and then I had her come back. I didn’t pick her up right away, I had her keep re-auditioning. She was so gracious about it. I said, it’s not about you and you’re acting ability, it’s me. I have got to make sure that this combination is perfect. Then, I looked at everybody again, and it always ended up back at Gabby.”

From there it was movie time. I asked if he was still working on the movie script. He did indeed confirm that he is, but that he has to get the television stuff done first. He said that he’s trying to find out what it is. He loves the idea of Spencer and Ashley living together, and is trying to figure out what is the interesting story to tell? Is it them, years later? Is it that Summer of them living together? Either way, he believes that it has to stand apart from the series, but it also has to be engaging to the series, and it has to be homage to the series. He also believes that he needs to find where he can put the movie, like where it would play. “The movie business is just crazy…if there were witches or something in it, we could probably get it funded…It’s always in the back of my mind…Who knows? Maybe, I’ll bring it back as a series, maybe, its better on television than a movie.”

I told him that was one of the questions on fan’s minds the most…Is it possible that it’ll ever be a series again? He said, “I think all things are possible…I have a great relationship with The N which is now Teen Nick…I don’t know if it fits their form anymore…” He said he would have to figure out where else it would go, but it’s not impossible. “I did a series twenty-five years ago called Kids Incorporated and people called up just recently and asked if I would do it again. So, you never know… I could be one-hundred and five and someone could ask me to do it again," he laughed.

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