Today’s Travelers Instagram takeover was split into two parts. I was unable to catch the first part of the takeover done by costume designer Mandi Line, however I did catch the second part, which was started by Leah Cairns who plays Kathryn Maclaren, Grant Maclaren’s wife. Cairns took us behind the scenes on set today, while they were filming. Amanda Tapping was directing again so she was on set and made sure to say “Hi” to the fans watching. As Cairns brought the camera around the back of the set, we saw a few guys in FBI gear sitting on a couch waiting for their set call.
Cairns stayed on set with the camera as they were filming but she wasn’t able to show us what was actually being filmed because of spoilers. Once we heard Amanda Tapping call cut, Cairns brought us over by where they had been filming where we saw a few familiar faces come across the camera. The first actor Cairns ran across was Eric McCormack, the actor who plays Grant McLaren. After that, we saw MacKenzie Porter, who plays Marcy Warton – you might remember her from the last take over. Next, there was Reilly Dolman who plays Philip Pearson, and then before Cairns left the set, she stopped to introduce us to Lee, who is one of the camera guys. Cairns left the filming area and took us past the hair and makeup crew who threw us a laugh and a wave as Cairns went by. Next, Cairns showed us where the props are kept on set and she also showed us one of the stunt dummies that had been named Mark. They were getting set up to start filming again so Cairns had to run off the set so we didn’t see any spoilers.
She took us over to hair and makeup trailer, where one of the crew member’s puppy was lounging on a chair. Leah talked about acting and how much she loves it. As she was talking, Rebecca Lee and Forest Sala, who are members of the hair and makeup team, came over to talk to us as well. Cairns told us that she loves Kat’s (her character) wardrobe and shoes so much, there were a few outfits that she wishes she could keep. When Cairns was on set one day, a bunch of Kat’s shoes were missing so since Cairns had gone out and bought her own pairs, she ended up just wearing her own shoes.
Cairns talked about watching Queer Eye and how she watched the first episode of this season with her whole family, including her 6 year-old twins. She feels it has such a good message and that everyone should watch it. Cairns then talks about the next takeover which will be done by Adam Lastiwka, the show’s composer.
Mark your calendars – we have another exciting Instagram takeover on June 27 at @trvlrsseries with #Travelers composer @Adamlastiwka! pic.twitter.com/IU3wD8Umnp
— Travelers (@TRVLRSseries) June 20, 2018
Forest Sala is the set stylist who is responsible for cutting Cairns hair on set for her. Cairn’s haircut was done specifically for the Kat character and it is specific for shooting; however she likes the style and keeps it that way.
Cairns started taking some question from fans in the video chat. Some of the fans brought up DragonCon and Cairns said that she was both excited and terrified as it was her first convention. She talked about how they were going to be doing a lot of Instagram videos and also giving away a lot of swag at the Travelers panel.
Cairns then talked about when her and Eric McCormack did a takeover and how they had no clue what they were doing at the time. Rebecca Lee chimed in and said it was hysterical. Cairns talked about how wonderful this season is going to be and how excited she is for us to see and experience it. “You guys are going to feel every emotion this season!” She also talked about how Jared Abrahamson was on set with his dad today (it was his first EVER visit to the set!!!) but he wouldn’t be able to come say hi while she was live-streaming. Conventions were brought up again by the audience and Cairns said that she would like to go to a con in France because it’s France, and her daughter Aura is in love with Paris.
A fan asked Cairns if she had worked with Magda Apanowicz on Kyle XY. Cairns said that yes, she had been on Kyle XY as Emily Hollander and worked with Magda. She then mentioned that Apanowicz was going to be on Travelers this season.
Early morning, copious cups of that caffeine stuff and awesome vibes – Let’s get ‘er done! #Travelers pic.twitter.com/mdmIsI3nxj
— Magda Apanowicz (@MagdaEh) May 28, 2018
Another fan asked what Cairns favorite Kat outfit was, and she replied that it was the dress she wore to Grant’s surprise party in Season 1, Episode 7.
Cairns spoke about how Travelers has always filmed in Vancouver. The first two seasons were filmed in an old empty post office by the Downtown Vancouver Library. It’s such a large, iconic building that there were also a few other shows filmed there such as Altered Carbon, GhostWars, and the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. Because of the size, sometimes there were multiple projects filmed at the same time. Cairns said it was a super cool building with a helipad on the roof, tunnels underneath the building that ran to the waterfront, and a creepy boiler room.
She then talked about how emotional the finale was. Cairns had worked with Richard Hatch in the past on Battlestar Galactica. They became friends on that set and she talked to us about how much he helped her during filming of BSG and afterwards. They stayed close friends, and when she was having a really hard time maintaining the emotional level she needed towards the end of the season, she asked Richard to help her. Even though Richard had passed away, she felt like he was there with her and that was how she was able to get through the scene and keep up emotional response she needed. While Cairns was talking about the emotion of the finale, she also said it was a lot of fun to film. She showed a picture that they had taken after filming the season 2 finale last year. Cairns said that it was the coolest thing, “We shot the last scene, and then we all got together to take the case picture with the helicopter in the background. It was such a cool thing.”
What a team ❤️ #Travelers pic.twitter.com/HCjwZIVvRr
— Travelers (@TRVLRSseries) January 8, 2018
I watched both seasons of Travelers virtually with a friend who lives in Vancouver. It grabbed me with the first episode and I am so excited for what is coming in Season 3. Stay tuned for the next Travelers Instagram takeover on June 27th with Adam Lastiwka!!