TV Interview!

Interview with Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez of “Alert” on FOX by Suzanne 12/14/22

This was a fun panel with the two stars of this new procedural show, the show’s EP, and FOX’s President of Scripted Programming. The show might remind you a little bit of “Without a Trace,” the show that ran from 2002 to 2009. It was about another missing person’s unit. However, in this one, the two lead characters are divorced, mainly because their own son was taken. Then there are many twists and turns involving the son, as well as new cases that they solve. Check it out! It premieres tonight, January 8, after football on FOX.

NOTE: They’re now calling this show “Alert: Missing Persons Unit.”

FOX ENTERTAINMENT WINTER PRESS DAY

ALERT

John Eisendrath (Executive Producer)

Scott Caan

Dania Ramirez

Michael Thorn (President, Scripted Programming, FOX Entertainment)

Virtual via Zoom December 14, 2022

© 2022 FOX Media LLC. All rights reserved.

JAMIE FOXX: Hi, everybody. It’s Jamie Foxx here to introduce to you our brand new action drama on FOX called Alert. Set within the Philly Police Department of Missing Persons Unit, each episode explores the dark side of the City of Brotherly Love. It’s an intense race against the clock where every second counts, as it’s impossible not to fear the worst when a loved one has gone, either kidnapped or gone missing.

Bringing the action of Alert into dramatic focus is our incredible cast, Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez. Scott Caan returns to police procedurals as Jason Grant, who has to team up with his ex wife, Nikki Batista, played by Dania. Together, they will help others by saving lives and bringing criminals to justice while also facing their own quest to find out the truth about their long lost son.

You know what’s hurting me the worst? The fact that I cannot be there with you guys because of production schedules, but you’re in great hands because the cast is there and my right hand man, my executive producing partner John Eisendrath is going to take you through the whole thing. And last but not least, head of scripted television at FOX, my man, Michael Thorn.

So ladies and gentlemen, enjoy. But before we get started, here is Alert.

(Clip played.)

LES EISNER: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Alert panel. Joining us today are actors, Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez; creator, executive producer and showrunner John Eisendrath; and Michael Thorn of FOX Entertainment.

Let’s get right into it. Lots of questions coming in. So thank you.

QUESTION: Good morning. This is for Scott. After ten years on Hawaii 5 0, what was it about this series and this character that made you willing to recommit to the possibility of maybe another long, grueling schedule?

SCOTT CAAN: That’s a good question. I mean, there’s a lot of different reasons. I mean, I think this script was really special. I think that, you know, there’s a lot of a lot of procedurals kind of have a formula that I didn’t notice in this. This show has a real serialized piece of the show. It’s not just a procedural. But honestly, I don’t when I read things, I don’t think about what kind of a show it is. I just, you know, find if I can find something in myself that I can put into this character, then that’s what that’s what makes me decide I want to do something.

And also, you know, I I’m grateful to be given a job too. So I don’t I don’t do a lot of questioning when it comes to what kind of a show it is. I just like I said, I’m grateful to be hired, and, you know, I like to work. And I think that there’s a lot of there’s a lot of acting problems in this show that I enjoy, and there is a lot of things that make this show something that is different than anything out there. You know, the idea of finding your son after not knowing where he’s been for seven years, I don’t think that that’s an experience that anybody on the planet’s actually had. So to me, like I said, it’s an acting problem that I’ve never been faced with, it’s an acting problem that I’ve never read before. So to me, it’s something that I immediately felt uncomfortable and didn’t know exactly how I was going to approach it, and those are the kind of things that turn me on when it comes to digging into a part. If I get a little nervous and don’t quite know what I’m going to do yet, then that’s a good sign that I should probably move forward and do it. So I don’t know if that answered the question, but I could talk about that specifically for a very long time. But that’s my short answer.

DANIA RAMIREZ: I love watching him be uncomfortable, personally.

(Laughter.)

DANIA RAMIREZ: So it’s been really fun to act with him. One of those problems, I guess.

SCOTT CAAN: Yeah. Again, I don’t no, I was going to say, I don’t know if that answered the question enough, but that’s my short answer.

DANIA RAMIREZ: You were brilliant.

SCOTT CAAN: Thank you.

QUESTION: Hey, guys. Thanks for being here. John, first of all, welcome back to FOX.

Tell me about where these cases are coming from, because I’m guessing this is a world that you can really tap into. There’s so much going on, so many missing people. But can you talk about where you’re pulling your cases from for all the stories?

JOHN EISENDRATH: Well, there are a lot of cases that we can draw from if we chose to do just ripped from the headlines. We have yes, if you’ve seen episode 2, you know that there’s a story that has at its heart, is a story about fentanyl and the overuse of it and the scourge of fentanyl in America today, which I think is very topical. So some of the episodes are definitely ripped from the headlines, and some of them have that kind of connection to, I hope, what a lot of people are thinking about, talking about, and in some ways as a parent worried about for their kids. So some of it is that, and some of it is just based on what we think would make for just the most urgent, heart pounding case that we can think of and the ones that have the highest stakes. And, again, in that, one of the great things about a missing persons show is the range is, I think. larger than any other range of storytelling available in procedural TV. Some cases, people are taken and are desperate to be found; some cases, people are running away and are desperate not to be found. And that’s part of the mystery that our characters have to unpack each week. So some of it’s ripped from the headlines, and some of it is just what is just the coolest, most urgent, most desperate case we can think of.

MICHAEL THORN: One of the other things that John has done so successfully, we think, is in addition to that urgency, every single episode and the the cases are they’re deeply emotional because it involves a missing person. And I think, as Scott was saying in the beginning, one of the reasons it feels different than other procedurals is that emotional resonance, both in the cases and, of course, specifically in the family story between Scott and Dania’s family story. So it’s really compelling to have storytelling that hits both all of those buttons in an exciting way.

JOHN EISENDRATH: And I would just add that off of what Michael said, that it is true that a lot of the cases have are picked, in part, because of the way that they impact Scott and Dania’s characters as it relates to their own personal story. Again, episode 2, since you’ve watched it, as an example of a parent who’s facing the question of what would, in this case, she do if she came into a room with the person who’d killed her child. And that is a question that Scott’s character and Dania’s as well are both wrestling with. What would they do if they were ever put in a room with the person who took their child? And not only is that obviously an incredibly emotional story and question for the two of them who don’t agree on what they would do, but hopefully for the people who are watching the show too, they will ask themselves what would they do if they were ever in that situation.

QUESTION: Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for doing this. I will I have two questions, but I’ll start with Dania and Scott. Nikki and Jason, at least in the first episode, they talk a lot about kind of wanting to turn the page and move forward, but they’re really struggling with that gaping hole that their missing son has left in their lives. So how would you describe the state of the relationship at the start of the show after they’ve gone through kind of the six years of looking for Keith, and how does that dynamic kind of continue to evolve over the course of the season?

SCOTT CAAN: Do you want to go?

MICHAEL THORN: Good question.

DANIA RAMIREZ: I think that’s a great question, actually, because the dynamic absolutely changes and I think it evolves through the season. And where we were at at the beginning of you know, when you first meet us, I think we’re both having our son be missing for that having our son be missing for that long has connected us in ways that you can’t connect with anyone else. And I think the way that we we have a very authentic way of wanting to deal with the cases because of it; we have a very authentic way of how we relate to each other because of it. We also have a daughter that we coparent, and so we have to I think we found a very comfortable place in which we relate to one another throughout the entire season, and we grow and evolve our relationship because we also become partners, as you know from watching episodes 1 and 2.

So I think there’s also a lot of room for wit and humor when you really know someone for that long. And, you know, me knowing also Scott prior to doing the project and getting to know him even more doing it, as Nikki and Jason continues, we get to — to deal with the issues of being parents together, coparenting together, and then having to deal with the loss of their child, I think opens up a lot of connection moments for connection between both of us but also allows us to really feel like we’re there for one another. I love that part of the show as well, because we are really both we meet each other with love and understanding. And that’s something that I don’t think that you’ve ever I’ve ever seen portrayed in television as beautifully as we do on this show, where you have two people who have to deal with having to move forward and go through a divorce but still feel that there’s a lot of love there at home and at work.

SCOTT CAAN: Yeah. You know, also one of my favorite things about starting something new, I mean, when it works out, there’s nothing better than getting to know somebody and have that show up on screen. There’s stuff that we don’t plan, and there’s stuff that have nothing to do with the story that exists between us. And as we get you know, get to know each other more, that stuff, you it can’t help but show up on screen. And to me, that’s that’s the most fun, and we hit it off immediately, and our relationship — you know, the first two scenes we did, I was like, All right, we got this.

You know, and we have we have this bond and whatever it is, and I think that that’s when it comes to a show like this, I think that’s one of the most important things that two people you’re kind of watching what we do in the show, and you’re also kind of watching our relationship, you know, off camera. Because, like I said, you can’t you can’t hide from that stuff, you know? It’s I mean, it’s great.

DANIA RAMIREZ: We have a great relationship on and off camera, but I think we also have found different ways of dealing you know, nobody’s perfect, and I think the fact that these the two characters are flawed, but also us as people are flawed. There’s nothing better than to, like, have find a common ground where you look at the person that you’re with all the time and you’re like, “Okay. Well, today your day was to do this, and maybe today I was” “I made you laugh.” And to have that sort of, like, dual relationship on and off set and you know, when the cameras are on and when the cameras are off, really makes for an incredible experience and a journey to take the audience on, you know?

JOHN EISENDRATH: I would just add to that that I think a lot of TV is wish fulfillment. You know, you’re watching the characters, and you want to sort of imagine that you could live that type of life. And I had hoped that we could portray in Dania and Scott’s characters a couple who’d gone through the most agonizing thing that you could go through, losing your child. And while it cost them dearly and they weren’t able to sustain their marriage, they did still have love for each other. And then when we meet them, they’re Scott’s character is with one woman, and Dania’s character is getting engaged to another person, and yet so it’s the most complicated possible situation. But for them, I was hoping that they would be able to navigate that incredibly tumultuous space with love and friendship and humor, and they do an amazing job of making that feel real. And I think that is exactly what I’d hoped for. And I think people will watch them as an ex couple and as coworkers and as coparents and feel like they’re doing an amazing job navigating an incredibly difficult and dramatic set of circumstances.

QUESTION: And for John, if I can just add one last question, can you talk a little bit about the process of casting Dania and Scott to play the leads of those two coparents you were talking about and also kind of the inspiration behind creating the series with Jamie?

JOHN EISENDRATH: Well, let me take the second part first. Then I’ll come back. Jamie, I got a call one day from his producing partner, Datari Turner, and he said that he wanted to pitch me an idea for a show. And usually when someone does that, I brace for a polite way of saying, “Thank you, but it’s a terrible idea.”

And the first thing he said was, “How about something about Amber Alert and the people who go missing?”

And I was like, “Wow, that’s actually a great idea for a show.”

And he explained to me that Jamie had had an experience one afternoon where he thought his child had gone missing. And it was not the case, but he for about six or seven hours, he wasn’t sure what had happened. And once that had occurred had happened to him, he did some investigating about the people who find missing persons, and it fascinated him, and he always thought I don’t know how many years ago it was, but that it would be a good basis for a TV show. And that was basically what Datari told me.

And I did agree. I thought it would be a great idea. And then for me, I do think the cases and the stories are singular in a missing persons procedural. But for me, I did feel the need to have something more at its core, and when I imagined that it could be that Scott and Dania’s characters had themselves lost a child, that that to me was when I realized, Oh, there could be a mystery at the center of this procedural show that could both be bring people along who love the procedural pieces but have that emotional core. So that’s how the inception of the show began.

And then in casting, you know, obviously I was familiar with Scott, I had watched Hawaii 5 0, and I thought that when we when I imagined who Jason is, I had imagined someone who had to have the ability to be dramatic, to carry these incredibly intense stories, but have a little but be funny and be able to because I believe that people who work in this kind of environment have to be able to have dark humor, have to be able to deflect the pain and the intensity of the world they’re in. And when Scott’s name came up, I realized, Well, he meets all those requirements. And then we talked via Zoom, as is the case in the world today, and his discussion with me about what the I won’t take the fact that he just walked off screen, I’ll he just doesn’t want me to embarrass him.

(Laughter.)

That, you know, when I just sort of felt like he understood who the guy was, and he would he was excited about the exploration. And that, to me, is singular. You know, you really want someone who is ready to go on an adventure with you, and because that’s what series TV is.

And then with Dania whose work I was less familiar with, but I immediately looked at so much of what she had done and felt like, okay, Nikki is the heart and soul of the show, she is the one who is centered around empathy and emotional connection to people who are grieving, because in this show, the people who come into that space have lost a loved one, and they need a hug as much as they need a forensic analysis of where, you know, their loved one has gone. And the minute we talked, I realized and watched, but really more when we talked, I realized that Dania was someone who, as a person, was comfortable with that. And I really think you have to be comfortable as and be an empathetic person to portray the level of empathy and concern that she has to that Nikki has to on the show. And so I immediately knew that she, too, was someone who could personify the essential trait of who Nikki is as the heart and soul of the show.

DANIA RAMIREZ: I’m so grateful to you, John. I just have to take a moment and just say thank you for trusting me with the material, because I know, you know, every time you do a new show and it’s your baby and you’re writing it and, you know, you’re creating this world, you want to you know, it’s a gamble that you’re taking on someone sort of being like, okay, you’re going to be able to portray this.

And after our first meeting, our conversation the conversation that we had and we talked about not only, you know, the cases, what the show was really about, but really it was when we had you know, we took put all that to the side and really had an honest conversation about who we were as people and the messages that we wanted to kind of put out there and that we really ended up connecting with the kind of you know, how to humanize these that character, how to humanize Nikki. So this was a job that she was doing, and she was connected because it had happened to her, and it gave me the ability to feel empathy and compassion for these people that were coming in with these cases, but also allowed me to bring a lot of myself into it and to really feel for these people but also find the light in some of the situations. And I’m just really grateful that you gave me the opportunity.

JOHN EISENDRATH: I just knew that I just knew that when you ended your text with “Namaste,” I was like, Okay, well, that’s all right.

DANIA RAMIREZ: Namaste.

MICHAEL THORN: And I’ll add that we got really lucky where you know, you read these scripts, and you imagine that, you know, Jason and Nikki are they have this history, and you hope you just hope for in any show that your lead actors are going to have the kind of chemistry it’s that intangible that Dania and Scott had. So we’re so lucky to have them both, because individually they’re terrific, but when you put them together in their character dynamics, it absolutely you those who have seen the first two episodes, you see they shine together.

DANIA RAMIREZ: You bring you do, you bring the best out of me, for sure.

SCOTT CAAN: Oh, thank you. I think the same about you. But I yeah, just going off of what Michael just said, I think that that’s the key to any of these shows. And it’s like it’s such a coin toss. You cannot you can’t predict how that’s going to happen. But like I said, on day 1, I just I was like, alright. We got something to build on.

DANIA RAMIREZ: You know what’s funny is that we couldn’t be more different but also, like, more the same. Like, we’re both really passionate people and really can find humor in the darkest of situations but could not be more opposite at the same time.

SCOTT CAAN: Don’t touch me.

(Laughter.)

DANIA RAMIREZ: He actually really likes to be touched. That’s the thing about him. He says he doesn’t.

JOHN EISENDRATH: This isn’t analysis, it’s just a

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: Thank you so much for doing this. First question is for Scott.

Scott, you know, you’ve done roles, “Oceans 11,” “Gone in 60 Seconds,” you know, intense roles. What drew you to this role, and is this role as intense as other shows that you’ve done?

And the next question is, you know, knowing that you have a daughter, was it and the show being a missing persons, you know, did you give her that kind of extra hug after shooting the show?

SCOTT CAAN: Yeah. I’ll answer backwards. You know, it’s I with my home life and being away, I like to, as much as I possibly can, bring whatever’s going on in my life to what I’m doing. And so just being away from my daughter for the last four months, obviously, now my second daughter, they get much bigger hugs than they’ve ever gotten. So I don’t know if it’s because of this show or because I’m away, but I think a combination of both has made me really appreciate what I have, and you know, and it also makes me appreciate the fact that I have a job. You know, it’s like a you know, a question people say, like, “Why are you doing another procedural show?”

It’s like, man, I’m genuinely I’m not just like “aw shucksing” it up, but, like, I to say, like, no to somebody who wants to hire me to do something in this day and age is, like, insane to me. Like, I’m so lucky to have a job, so lucky to be able to come to work every day.

And going back to your original question, you know, I think what we do is a lot more difficult than showing up for a movie for three, four months and, you know, just doing one role. I think what turns me on about this I answered it a little bit in the beginning, but, you know, dealing with the idea of having your son go missing and then having him come back and you’re not sure if it’s actually your son, playing with those ideas week to week, month to month, episode to episode, like I said, it’s nothing it’s unprecedented. I don’t think you can find somebody and interview somebody who had that experience. So for me, this is, without question, the most complicated thing I’ve ever done. So to label it as a procedural or label it as this kind of show or that kind of show makes no sense to me. I’m learning more about myself. I’m learning a ton about acting. I’m learning there’s just so much going on, and I think that it is definitely more intense than anything I’ve ever done in a really beautiful good way.

And I don’t mean to sound too goofy or corny, but it’s if you like if you like being creative, if you like digging in as an actor, like, there’s there isn’t much out there that is more complicated problem solving as an actor than this show has been for me, and I think I knew that right away. And it’s challenging. It’s really challenging. And, you know, I think that the second we aren’t challenged anymore at what we do, we should just quit, you know? I think that

DANIA RAMIREZ: Which you’ll never do.

SCOTT CAAN: Well, but, again, you know, it’s like

DANIA RAMIREZ: You can’t. I wouldn’t let you.

SCOTT CAAN: No, I know. But I’m saying my point is that this is this isn’t something that I can just show up and, you know, not give a lot of thought to. And that’s what keeps me excited about it, and that’s I think why people will be excited to watch the show, because we’re literally trying to figure things out all the time, and it’s not it’s not like anything else out there, that I’ve seen anyway.

So to answer your question, yes, this is way more intense, way more complicated, and way more challenging, and that’s sort of why I’m really interested in it, you know? So…

DANIA RAMIREZ: Acting is very therapeutic as well. I think one of the things that I and you don’t know this, but the first meeting that I ever had with John and some of the other producers and I knew that you were doing the job, and I was like, you know, I’m excited just to dig in and even see how you know, how we change as people, because it is very therapeutic to go through these things. And you have you know, you just had a baby. Leaving having your family back in LA has played a big part of, like, you really being able to dive into those emotions and vulnerabilities within the role, and it’s been very great to feel like I am also like, I have my family here, but I don’t get to spend a lot of time with them and my kids. And so we’re able to really allow each other to be vulnerable in those moments and to share that with the masses and to feel like, okay, I’m going to unveil that part of me. And I think that’s what the world likes to connect to. To be able to transcend those emotions and to get people to connect with that is super, you know, inspiring, and, you know, this is a the show has just been a great opportunity to share those emotions with everyone.

QUESTION: Hi. This is for Scott and Dania. You’re basically the show is living out every parent’s worst nightmare in so many respects. So how emotional is it for each of you, and is it difficult to let it go after some of these highly emotional scenes?

SCOTT CAAN: Yeah, I think it is. I mean, you know, it’s one of those things where, you know, you it’s like our job definitely comes home with us, and I don’t realize how affected I am by it. But, yeah, I mean, every day, we’re dealing with really, really horrible stuff.

DANIA RAMIREZ: Yeah, it’s hard to leave it behind. And honestly, I think, you know, it’s human nature to and especially for actors, if you’re really into it, to just really live out those emotions. And that’s not something you can shut off right away. I mean, I think that’s why it’s great to be a part of a job in which it’s not just, you know, Scott on the job here, but it’s also our crew and the people that we’re working with every single day, the writers, the people that are here and our other cast mates, we become our own like a family outside of what we you know, what we film every day, and I think we have that support system to really get through that and be able to say, “Okay, that was that. Let’s put it to the side, and now let’s” you know, our lives will continue, and we have to figure out a way to pick ourselves back up. But, yeah, it’s very difficult.

And it’s interesting because, you know, the last show that we I mean, we were in “Entourage” together, and what a completely different vibe that was, because it’s like that’s fun, and we were completely different people back then. We didn’t have kids back then. We didn’t really know each other. We didn’t have any scenes together. So I could say maybe we played together. We, like, hung out. But we didn’t really you know, now, who we are who we were then and who we are now is a completely different ballgame, and being parents and dealing with a show that has to deal with, like, missing children is something that’s really close to the heart, and it’s hard to leave behind.

SCOTT CAAN: Yeah. So basically after we do five, six years of this show, I’m going to call Michael and say, “Michael, put me on a half hour comedy immediately, please.”

MICHAEL THORN: Done.

LES EISNER: And with that, we’ll wrap our session.

MORE INFO:

Co-created by John Eisendrath (the Executive Producer of The Blacklist) and superstar Jamie Foxx, Alert: Missing Persons Unit is a procedural drama set in the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit (MPU). Each episode features a heart-pounding, life-or-death search for a missing person that runs alongside police officers JASON GRANT (Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-O) and NIKKI BATISTA’s (Dania Ramirez, Devious Maids) season-long quest to find out the truth about their long-lost son.

Six years ago, while working overseas, Jason received the call that every parent fears – he and Nikki’s son, KEITH (Graham Verchere, The Good Doctor), had gone missing. From that moment forward, the lives of Jason, Nikki and their daughter, SYDNEY (recurring guest star Fivel Stewart, Atypical), were turned upside down. The frantic search to find Keith began and the mystery about his disappearance continues to this day.

Throughout the search to find Keith, Jason and Nikki’s marriage deteriorated and they grew apart. Jason moved into private security, while Nikki was promoted within the Philly P.D. to Head of the MPU, where she has been able to do for others what she wasn’t able to do for herself, bring a loved one back home. At the MPU, she leads a team of highly skilled individuals including her current love interest MIKE (Ryan Broussard, Only Murders In The Building), whom Nikki met when he was assigned to oversee the search for Keith; KEMI (Adeola Role, The Blacklist), who is proficient in many languages, highly discerning of visual clues, and uses her know-how as a shaman to take a holistic approach to her job; and forensic anthropologist C (recurring guest star and newcomer Petey Gibson), who is a master at reconstructing the faces of those who have disappeared. Together, the team works to find the missing, abducted, or kidnapped, and help reunite them with their loved ones before it’s too late.

When Jason receives a possible proof-of-life photo that Keith is very much alive, he and Nikki will reunite personally and professionally to continue the fight for their son.

Alert: Missing Persons Unit is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and FOX Entertainment. John Eisendrath serves as showrunner and executive producer. Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, J.R. Orci, Adam Kane and Michael Offer (101 and 102) are also executive producers.

SCOTT CAAN

as Jason Grant

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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