The ABC summer drama series Reef Break follows Cat Chambers (Poppy Montgomery), a former thief who’s now helping the governor to solve crimes and catch criminals on the Pacific Island paradise known as The Reef. Not entirely reformed, Cat is as impulsive and reckless as she is effective, which essentially makes her the thorn in everyone’s side, whether it’s her ex, FBI Agent Jake Elliot (Ray Stevenson), her current fling, Detective Wyatt Cole (Desmond Chiam), or just about anyone else on the island.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, from the Australian set where the show is located, actress/executive producer Poppy Montgomery talked about how this show came about and evolved into what it is now, what she learned from Without A Trace and Unforgettable that she applied to Reef Break, the biggest production challenges in pulling this show off, why she’s more freaked out by scenes in the rainforest than the ocean, playing a professional surfer, what makes Cat Chambers such a fun character, casting the show, already thinking ahead to a possible Season 2, and how she’d like to continue to develop various projects.
Collider: This show is exactly what you want out of a summer drama, with beautiful people and beautiful scenery, and it’s a fun, fresh take on the crime genre. How did this all start? You’re an executive producer on the show and it was developed around your idea, but how did it all come about?
POPPY MONTGOMERY: I wanted to live that beach lifestyle, so I was like, “How do I incorporate my job with everything that I really want to do?,” which was to be on the beach, surf, ride a jet ski, and do a show that was fun, and not super dark. I’ve gotten to the point where I feel like the world is pretty dark and so many weird things are going on, politically, that I wanted to do a show that was fun to act in and fun to watch. It really came about because I have an audience in that genre of procedural shows, so I took the idea to M6 in France ‘cause my shows, Without A Trace and Unforgettable were really, really popular there. I was like, “Hey, I’ve got this idea to do a twist on one of those shows. It’s the Magnum PI and Baywatch meets Hawaii 5-0 version, with a girl surfing and doing what the guys normally do. ABC International and M6 were my first partners, and that’s where it started. And then, we found a writer and then the rest is history, and we went from there.
It’s really cool that you can have an idea, and then actually make it happen.
MONTGOMERY: Thank you! I’m still in shock ‘cause I thought we would just be six or 10 episodes for the foreign market, to start. But then, ABC Network read the script and it was like this magical fairy godmother gave us 13 episodes, straight to air. That was pretty amazing and unexpected.
You’ve certainly had a lot of success on television. What did you learn from those past experiences that you applied to this show? Were there things that you knew you did and didn’t want to do, from things you had learned on other shows that you’ve been a part of?
MONTGOMERY: Yeah. I knew, for sure, that I did not want to play a cop. I was like, “I am a criminal. Everybody, I need you to understand, my character is a criminal and a surfer and she sleeps around. I want everybody to be clear about that. And she doesn’t apologize for it. She’s a rascal, and she likes it.” That was the first thing. I didn’t want her to accidentally become too cop like and conscientious. I learned that because I’ve done that a lot. I understood how brutal the workdays are. It’s four o’clock in the morning here, and after you and I talk, I go straight to set and we’ll probably film until eight or nine tonight, but I’m prepared for that because I’ve had such good training on the other shows. Every show is so different. We’re shooting out on the water so much. None of that stuff is green screen. It’s all done in the open ocean. This show has a lot of other factors that are really exciting, that I’ve never experienced before because you cannot control the ocean. A soundstage is easy, but once you get out there on boats and jet skis, when some random giant waves or a storm rolls in, you’re just in it. It’s exciting. It’s a mix of what I know, and a lot of learning, as well.
What are the biggest production challenges, with pulling a show like this off?
MONTGOMERY: We’re in Australia, in Queensland, and we have a crew that is so amazing. They know how to do this stuff, thank god. They’re all water babies here. They grew up on the beach and they’re surfers. Our stunt team is insanely talented. They’re big wave surfers. My stunt double is a mom of an eight-month-old, and she skateboards and surfs, and she’s a bad-ass, in every way, so that really helps. They’re not even production problems, but filming on the water and not in a tank, on the open ocean on boats and jet skis, you’re really at the mercy of nature. You don’t really get to say, “Hey, can we brighten that light up, or push those class away, or turn off that torrential rainstorm that we’re trying to shoot around?” That’s been the magic of it. We have to let go and just roll with whatever comes our way because we’re at the mercy of the elements.
When you’re doing scenes out there in the middle of the ocean, does it ever get scary, or is it something that just never stops being cool?
MONTGOMERY: It never stops being cool for me. The rainforest gets scary for me. When I see a spider as big as my hand, crawling along the ground, and everyone here is like, “Don’t worry , mate. You’re all right. It won’t bother you, if you don’t bother it.” I was like, “Hey ,guys, that spider really seems quite large.” The rainforest freaks me out. There are biting ants and jumping spiders. It’s absolutely insanely beautiful, but you can put me in the open ocean over that, any day. We do a lot of rainforest shoots because it’s so beautiful, and no one here is afraid of it. I’m Australian, so I should be better about it, but I’m not. With any kind of bug, I run around like a three-year-old girl and start screaming. If anything flies at me, all my bad-assery goes flying out the window and I become the biggest wuss on the planet. Even with the small ones, my son was walking around without shoes. My kids are here for summer break to visit, and my oldest, the 13-year-old, went, “I think I stepped on something. Ow!” And I looked down and there was an ant the size of my toe, called a fire ant. And the reason that it’s called a fire ant is ‘cause, when it bites you, it burns like fire. I was like, “Okay, you can’t walk barefoot up to the lighthouse, ever again.”
You personally surf, but there’s a difference between that and being a pro at it, like your character is. What are the challenges that come with pretending to be a great surfer, on camera, and are you ever disappointed that you can’t do more of the surfing, yourself?
MONTGOMERY: I’m so disappointed that I’m not a better surfer. I think part of the reason I made Cat Chambers a better surfer is because, secretly, I always wanted to be a really good surfer, and I’m not. I’m a pretty shit surfer, actually. I’m a good paddler, and I can catch a little waves, but I always wanted to be like my stunt double. It was one of my dreams to be really good, and I’m fascinated by really amazing surfers. I just think it’s one of those beautiful sports. So, I think that’s why I created Cat Chambers as a pro surfer. But for liability reasons, I’m not really allowed to do anything other than paddling. All of the really cool popping up and big surf and all of the aerials is my stunt double, who is just beyond. She’s so amazing. I couldn’t even do that stuff, if I wanted to. I hope, one day, to learn to just be a 10th as good as she is.
Cat Chambers is such a fun character because she’s a grown woman who seems to know exactly who she is, she has a bit of a love triangle going on, she makes no apologies for any of it, and she’s a criminal who gets to solve crimes. Are there things that you’ve grown to appreciate about getting to play a character like this, that you maybe didn’t even realize, when you started doing it?
MONTGOMERY: There’s something fun in not being 20, and playing a bad-ass action babe. I didn’t expect that, at this point in my life, after five kids. It’s really cool, and it’s what I love about television. I’m getting to play a character that does so much sex, sunshine, surf and action, and unapologetically. That’s the great thing. She doesn’t apologize for not being married. She doesn’t apologize for not having kids. She doesn’t apologize for not wanting that traditional life. I think that’s really liberating, for sure.
It must also be refreshing to play a woman who is comfortable and completely owns her sexuality, and doesn’t feel like she has to explain why she might want to have a one night stand.
MONTGOMERY: Yeah, exactly. She sleeps with everyone on the reef, just wait. We haven’t even gotten started yet. Magnum did it, on the original Magnum PI. He was always with some different hot babe. So, I was like, “Shit, she can do it, too, can’t she?” And everyone was like, “I don’t see why not.”
Are you surprised that no one has tried to change her or tone her down?
MONTGOMERY: Yes and no. The ABC Network is known for their strong female characters. They did it with How to Get Away With Murder, Scandal, and Grey’s Anatomy. They allow their female characters to be flawed, which I really like. So, I knew that they would give us free rein, as much as they can on a network, but I keep trying to push it. I’m like, “I think she should sleep with this guy, and this guy” This is a bit of an homage to the original Magnum PI, in my mind. I loved those shows – the Aaron Spelling shows, the Stephen J. Cannell shows, the blue sky shows of the ‘70s and ‘80s, and even the blue sky shows on USA. And so, when I pitched it as that kind of show, it was inherent that my character was gonna unapologetically have many lovers. I’m just basically living vicariously through her. I’m married with five kids, and I can’t really surf, at all, and she’s single and ready to mingle, has no children, surfs, drives jet skis and boats, and swims in the ocean, like a crazy person. I love it.
I would imagine that you must also have a hand in casting. How did you approach figuring out who you wanted to surround yourself with, on this show?
MONTGOMERY: First of all, we wanted a really international cast because we started as an international show. Ray [Stevenson] is Scottish/Irish. He’s from that side of the world, and his body of work is so amazing. We really wanted his character to be this booming guy. I was a fan of his from Rome, and everything that he’d done, so we met with him over Skype. He lives on the island of Ibiza, so we sent him the script and he said, “Great!,” and that was that. And then, we began the search for Wyatt, which is Desmond Chiam’s character. Hundreds of people read for that role, and Des just brought something really fresh and funny. He’s great with the comedy and the lightness, and this show needs a light touch, even though it’s a drama. That’s a hard combination to find, and he just had it. He auditioned in Los Angeles, but he’s actually Australian, so he just seemed like the perfect fit for the show. And Melissa [Bonne] and Tamala [Shelton] are Australian. It all just came together. Mostly, we auditioned and read people, and I read with people, to see the chemistry, and we just put the cast together that way. In Episode 3, we had Rob Collins, who’s an amazing Australian actor. And Melina [Vidler], who played Tori Eastland, auditioned and she was just perfect for the part. We found lots of new faces, not people we’ve seen a thousand times before. I thought it was really important to have fresh, new, upcoming talent involved in the show, as well as seasoned veterans, so to speak.
Was it important to you to make sure that there was also time to explore the relationship dynamics between the characters, instead of having this just be a procedural show?
MONTGOMERY: Yeah, the other thing that was really important to me was that the cases we’re dealing with on this show are much lighter. They’re not murders and kidnappings, and when there are kidnappings, they’re not like heavy, so that gives us room to play in the relationship world. Sometimes on Without A Trace or Unforgettable, when the crimes were super dark, the juxtaposition would be a little confusing, if you’re suddenly rolling around in bed and laughing uproariously while you’re dealing with some horrendous crime. So, I wanted to make sure that we kept the procedural side of the show on the lighter side, so that we could have some of the relationships, in every episode.
How far ahead have you thought about where this story and character could go? Have you guys had discussions about what Season 2 could look like?
MONTGOMERY: We’re starting to do that now. It’s hard because you never want to jump the gun and say, “So, in Season 2 . . .,” but you also want to be prepared, if the audience responds. It’s really up to the audience, ultimately, if we succeed or don’t succeed. If people enjoy it and tune in, then great, we’ll be back. If they don’t, we won’t. Once the network airs the show, the audience decides. So, we’re looking and tracking social media and seeing what people are enjoying, and what parts they like and don’t like. Season 1 is always very experimental for the creatives because we’re learning as we go and we’re taking all of that information in. We’re still shooting in Australia. We’re not done until end of July, and we’ve been here since December.
You’d been thinking about and developing this show for a bit, before it finally reached the screen. Do you have more ideas for more projects that you’re hoping to get made, at some point? Is that something that you’re looking to do more of?
MONTGOMERY: Oh, my god, I have so many ideas and so many books optioned. I’ve gotta settle down and focus on one. My mother was like, “Pick the next one. You’ve just gotta pick it.” I’ve got like 15, but there are two frontrunners for me, right now, that I have in heavy development. Hopefully, they will go, as well. I think they’re good. They’re good shows that are very different from this. One of them is a lot darker than this, and one is a half-hour comedy. So, I have a bunch of stuff that I’m looking at. But this has been pretty all consuming, for the last seven months, because I’m in practically every scene, and I’m producing it. It’s not a vanity producer title. I’m hands-on producing it, and that’s a big job, just on its own.
Reef Break airs on Thursday nights on ABC.