It’s been almost a week since the premiere of Jurassic World Season 2: Camp Chalky, the latest in the long Jurassic series. The Netflix animated series, which follows a group of teenagers stranded on the island of Nublar during the events of the Jurassic, has certainly surprised viewers every time. Especially the second season of the series, which further explores the camp’s chalk myths with plenty of heart, humor, and unexpected twists along the way.
One of the key figures in Camp Cretaceous is Scott Kreamer, who is executive producer and showrunner of the project. Kreamer is no stranger to exciting family content. He co-produced the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for seven years and collaborated on series such as Kung Fu Panda : Legends of Womanhood, Cat Scratch and Pinky, Elmira and the Brain.
To celebrate the return of Camp Chalky, we had the opportunity to talk to Screamer about everything season 2. We talked about the highlights of the season, where the series could have gone further, and the surreality of being part of a larger Jurassic franchise. Keep scrolling down to watch it (along with an exclusive clip from season 2), and let us know what you think in the comments below!
Jurassic World season 2 major spoilers: Camp Chalky’s down! Don’t look unless you want to know!
I really enjoyed the second season. I think you’ve made such good progress, clearly a cliffhanger from the first season, but still keeping the spirit of the show. From a creative standpoint, I was very curious about developing a season that deals with such dark themes, but it’s clearly a children’s story and there’s a kind of childlike approach.
Scott Creamer: That’s how we try to approach the whole series, and it’s a bit of a balancing act. We don’t want to be afraid of these things from the start. Look, it’s actually a show about these kids. We think about each episode in the writers’ room: What are we going to do about it? It always starts with where the character is, and there’s always something we can learn from it, or enlighten it, or subvert the expectations of different tourists.
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If you’re making spoilers for the season, I liked how you introduced the kids to the real bad guys. One gets the impression that the first season was not limited to Jurassic events, while this season focuses more on direct action by children against other people. What was it like to introduce thieves and big game hunting?
That was fun. It’s just the nature of the series that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to adding new characters. So it was really nice that Mitch, Tiff and Hap were there. We more or less knew how their endgame was going to end, and you really want to make sure that people-especially in a children’s show-when people die, we don’t take that lightly, and we really want to make them feel like it’s going to happen. And I think Tiff and Mitch really deserve it.
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I was curious about the creative decision behind Ben and Bumpy’s return, because I think you guys really deserve this moment.
We put a lot of love into it. The author, Lindsay Kearns, and our editor, Josie Campbell, really put a lot of effort into the work. And then, on the artistic side, director Eric Elrod and especially the other executive producer, Eric Hammersley, really rolled up their sleeves and threw themselves into this episode.
Before we started, I knew I wanted to do a survival episode, [like] leave. Include as little dialogue as possible in the episode, just a survival story. Well, on the way back, it borrowed perfectly.
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Is there a scene from the second season that you like?
The fight between Ben and Bumpy and against Thoreau, I really, really liked. Moreover, such a climax takes place at the end of the season. It’s hard to do, and our supervisors just did a remarkable job. It’s hard to have so many characters on screen at once in a CGI TV series.
I really like the character development. Connection between Kenji and Yaz when Yaz doubts his merits. There’s a lot about this season that I really like.
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Is there anything to reveal yet about the series’ sequel after season 2? Looks like you have a lot of stories to tell, between the kids still stuck on the island and the allusion to the end of the second season.
I wish I could tell you more, if there’s anything else. You say exactly what I would say. With these characters, we have a story to tell, and we settled on things in the first season that we really want to make money on. So there is hope, because when we started, we knew that the opening scene of Fallen Kingdom, where they get the Indominus and things like that, is six months after Jurassic World. We have plenty of time to tell the stories of the past and stick to the canon of the Jurassic universe.
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When I talked to Colin about this season, he said something similar, which was that the entire history of Camp Chalky would go down in history in a very important way. What was it like for the series to be part of this big franchise and do its own thing, while being able to go up and down in this big canon?
It’s like a dream come true. Just having the opportunity to be a part of this [franchise] means a lot. It means a lot to the fans, but also to me and our team. In the beginning, we all came here as fans. It was great.
And for Colin to be so involved… He was often in our writers’ room and commented on many things. When we started, he was still writing Dominion, so we had an idea where the show would go. There were times when we weren’t necessarily going the wrong way, but we were a little too close to where it could have gone. It’s really great in the sense that solving the mystery of season 1, where our kids might be, doesn’t go against the canon of the movie, but maybe looks at other events from a different angle. It’s really fun to understand everything, from the point of view of writing.
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What was the reaction to season 1 and the excitement of season 2?
That’s amazing. It’s incredibly satisfying. I felt it: It’s a quality show. We put a lot of heart, a lot of love and a lot of work into it, but I didn’t know what to expect. You’re part of something that means so much – whether it’s Harry Potter, Jurassic or Star Wars, you don’t know what to expect.
And believe it or not, the internet is not always a good place. So for us to be accepted and celebrated by the fans and to know so much love is indescribable. We don’t win that often, and it was really great.
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What do you expect most from viewers, especially for Season 2?
When we started, the dinosaurs were still there, and I said: If we really want to have people for a movie longer than 90 minutes, for a few episodes, [we have to] have a cast where people like them. And more than that: You can identify with them and support them. I really loved the places – emotional, personal and intrafamilial – these characters go.
Besides, we didn’t use the T-Rex in the first season. I love T-Rex, and I’m very happy that Rexy is playing this season as well.
But there’s a lot of fun to be had. We get to see new dinosaurs, we get to see new parts of the island that were not seen in the movie or the series. When you see things happening, you’re very excited and you’re in it with your heart.
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The first two seasons of Jurassic World: Chalky Camp is now available for streaming on Netflix.
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