This post contains details from the Season 5 premiere ofFreeformsGood Trouble.
Maia Mitchellhas returned to The Coterie but not under happy circumstances.
In trueGood Troublefashion, this isnt the only situation going down at The Coterie.
Good TroubleFreeform/Troy Harvey
Johnson broke down all this and more about the Season 5 premiere with Deadline.
DEADLINE: Did you know when Maia left last season that she would be returning this quickly?
And if not, how did it come about?
JOANNA JOHNSON:Well, when I left, there was always the open door.
She said she would come back and do episodes.
I think Maia just wanted to go back to Australia for a little while.
She missed her family, and I think she also just wanted to be open to pursue other things.
And were like, Well, of course youre welcome anytime.
So, schedule wise and everything, it worked out great.
Shes always going to be a part of this show.
It feels like coming home to her.
How did you decide Evan would be the one to get shot?
JOHNSON:We thought about it for a while.
At first it was like maybe Mariana gets shot and then the whole family comes back.
And thats going to give us tons of story to mine.
Rather than seeing Marianna recovering from being shot, its so much better to see her struggling with guilt.
DEADLINE: Well, and now shes Evans proxy.
Shes supposed to take over as acting CEO of Speckulate.
How is she going to handle that?
JOHNSON:She takes it on with her usual intensity.
She feels like this is her way to make amends to Evan, and shes got to protect him.
This is something she has to do.
Also, the powers that be are not thrilled to have her there.
So, it just seemed like another great storyline for her to return to Speckulate.
So we were excited about that.
JOHNSON:Shes just matured a lot.
Shell always be a little impulsive.
Thats Mariana, and thats something shes going to make a run at work on this season.
Its funny, Mariana has become more impulsive than Callie.
But she is growing and shes maturing.
DEADLINE: Theres a lot going on in this episode.
Isabella gives birth, and then at the end of the episode she takes off with the baby.
But I think hes blindsided when she leaves with the baby.
From her point of view, shes afraid he is going to take the baby away.
We all know that Isabella.
Thats where she kind of keeps you on your toes as a character.
A lot of people have jobs, and they still dont have housing.
So we really wanted to do something about that.
We thought Bryan [Craig] was so good for the role.
But we all liked him and wanted to find something for him.
I think people forget that people that are unhoused they have dreams, too.
They have things they want to do.
And its fun to see that through him.
And were in the fifth season so its nice to see new people.
DEADLINE: Malika is also involved in the housing crisis, but on the political side of things.
Her and Isaac used to argue about this.
JOHNSON:Malika so intently wants to help people and wants to change the world.
I think it is important to have a balance.
DEADLINE: Of course I have to ask about Davia and Dennis.
With everything going on, theyre still reveling in the joy of their new relationship.
How do you balance that with the other serious storylines youre crafting?
But then its still funny, even through the pain of Emmas illness.
And I thought, I love this.
I love mixing and matching the tones.
They both are going to have career things that havent been introduced yet to come in.
And how do you maintain a new relationship when youre suddenly really busy?
With Alice, we always have comedy in her story and with her and Sherry is so funny.
We want to keep the show funny, too.
When you watch, I think our show can be very funny.
I think our show can be very dramatic.
I think it could be a lot of different things.
Thats really fun to write, and I hope its fun to watch for the audience.
