Pop-Culturalist.com

Tim Rozon and Sarah Levy are delivering two of the most nuanced and grounded performances as the leads of SYFY’s SurrealEstate.

The must-see series follows real estate agent Luke Roman (Rozon) and Susan Ireland (Levy), along with an elite team of specialists that handle the cases no one else can: haunted and possessed houses that literally scare would-be buyers away. Researching, investigating, and “fixing” the things that go bump in the night, the team works to create closure—and closings—even as they struggle with demons of their own.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Tim and Susan about how the show has expanded its scope in Season 2, exploring their characters’ vulnerabilities, finding moments of levity, and more. Plus, they tease what audiences can expect from the upcoming season finale.

PC: Season 1 laid down the foundation for this world as well as its tone and voice. Everything has only expanded heading into Season 2. As you’ve continued to build this universe, was there a particular aspect of each of your characters that you were most interested in diving deeper into? What were some of those early conversations that you had with the creative team?
Sarah: For me, the thing that I’m always looking to explore further is the powers that Susan has and the extent of those powers. We’ve seen a fair bit of it, but what’s bubbling under there is so much bigger than what we’ve even seen. I would love to explore that even more.

Tim: For me, I love looking back. What’s really interesting about Luke is not knowing his past, so trying to put that together is very interesting for me. We’re starting to do that in Season 2. We definitely are going to get more into his past than maybe he wants to. It’s great and exciting. From day one, episode one, I wanted to understand where he was and where he started, but there’s a big part of his past that I didn’t have answers to, and I didn’t really get those answers when I asked. But that was probably on purpose. [laughs] They’ve always known where we were going with his arc.

PC: Tim, in a show where there are so many scares, it’s those really subtle moments that stand out, where we see Luke embracing change and the idea of letting go. What’s played the biggest role in his development this season? How were you able to show that growth so brilliantly on screen because the Luke we meet at the start of the season isn’t the one that we find at the end?
Tim: Thank you. Vulnerability is very important for me as an actor to show that. There’s a giant picture of River Phoenix behind me. He’s my favorite actor. The reason he was my favorite actor is because I watched Stand By Me, and he was so vulnerable on screen. I connected with his performance right away. To get to do that on this show feels really good. To let Luke be vulnerable is important and fun for me, especially being in sales and in a power position. But to see that he’s a vulnerable man with so many layers is something that I really love.

PC: Sarah, there’s an emotional moment in Episode 203 where Susan is connecting with a spirit and talking about their shared experiences as women in business who have to work twice as hard to get half as far, and you brought so much nuance to that moment, which will resonate with so many. Did you feel the weight of that moment when you were reading the script? As an actor, how did you create the space for yourself to dive into that moment in particular?
Sarah: Our writers are so wonderful. They create such incredible moments of vulnerability for all of us. We’re all lucky to be able to bring it down. That moment, especially as we were shooting it, I connected with it. It resonated so much because it feels very truthful, especially with what’s going on in the world right now and this wonderful movement and power that women have. You feel that. I felt it especially because I had just had a baby and I was going back to work. I was trying to balance both and the weight of that as well. Our moments of vulnerability aren’t hard to connect with anyway because the writing is so lovely, but that put an extra stamp on it for me.

PC: Tim, you’re no stranger to the sci-fi horror genre, but what makes SurrealEstate so special is its use of humor, which you all really doubled down on in Season 2. How much of that is scripted versus improvised? How fun has it been to play in that space because I know that’s one of the reasons why you became an actor?
Tim: I actually wanted to talk about that with your last question. On top of the vulnerability, the other thing that we have is humor. I was listening to Sarah answer your last question, and I remember that scene, which she was lovely in, but the best part of that moment was that we were on that fake little phone while she’s doing this beautiful speech. [laughs] That’s SurrealEstate. Yes, we have these characters in these vulnerable and powerful moments, yet we’re in this ridiculous situation trying to figure out life.

Sarah: Yeah, talking to a dead woman. [laughs]

Tim: It’s the best. It’s super fun.

PC: Sarah, I love the friendship between Susan and Zooey and how they’re always uplifting one another, and you really see the importance of that relationship when Susan takes a sabbatical from the agency. Who were the women in your own life who have shown up for you in a similar way? How have you and Savannah [Basley] built that bond and magic on screen?
Sarah: Oh my gosh. I agree. What I love about Susan and Zooey’s relationship at the start was that she was very skeptical about Susan coming in. Their friendship has really blossomed, and it’s been so wonderful. In my own life, I’ve had incredible women, from girlfriends to family, who have been incredibly supportive. They’ve left this big open space for communication, vulnerability, and being able to rely on them for support, which is so important.

But also Savannah is so good and she’s so funny. She has these amazing moments of levity and vulnerability. It’s been so wonderful to get to know her and everyone in our cast. Tim and I were lucky enough to know each other before. It’s also been great to see how our personal relationships have unfolded. Savannah and I are the two women on the team, and it’s been an incredible opportunity to get to know her as a person and see her growth over the past two seasons. It’s not hard to act opposite of.

PC: Without giving any spoilers, Season 2 is an absolute masterpiece and it’s going to be so rewarding for the audience. What were your initial reactions when you read that script in particular? Is there anything that you can tease?
Tim: I’m so jealous that you saw it.

Sarah: I know! I’m dying to see it. There is so much that goes on in that episode. When we were first reading it, I was like, “How are we going to do all of this?” It’s jammed full of very exciting stuff, so I’m excited to see how it turned out.

Tim: The finale was the first time that I myself and we kind of did it together approached George [Olson] to ask for something that I thought both of our characters needed. It’s very small and short, so I don’t know if it made it. I’m very curious to see.

Make sure to follow Tim (Instagram) and Sarah (Instagram). New episodes of SurrealEstate air every Wednesday at 10/9c on SYFY.

Photo Credit: SYFY