When “The Secret Circle” debuted this year, we expected a considerable online fandom to arise — after all, a supernatural teen drama practically cries out to the obsession-prone. We looked forward to fans growing passionate about the characters and their relationships.
What we didn’t expect was the rise of “Fayana” fans — those viewers rooting for bad girl Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) and her voice-of-reason frenemy Diana (Shelley Hennig) to get together. The enthusiasm of these fans hasn’t gone unnoticed — Phoebe, Shelley, and even executive producer Andrew Miller have had a blast watching fan videos and reading tweets.
This week, Zap2it visited the cast in Vancouver, where the show is filmed. Even though it was her day off, Shelley met us for coffee before heading to her dance lessons. Of course, we had to ask her about the Fayana fans and the impact they’ve had.
“I don’t know where this began. I mean, it obviously started on Twitter, where all of a sudden they ‘shipped’ our names,” she says. She and Phoebe have had fun playing up the ‘Fayana’ for the fans.
“Phoebe and I hang out a lot in real life. When we have the same days off, we work out together or go to Whole Foods together, or have a sleepover the night before we get on a flight to LA,” she explains. “So we’d Twitter a picture of us doing our thing, and people caught on, because our characters hate each other but we’re really good friends in real life, and I think the fans dig that. So they’ve ‘shipped’ us, and now we continue to ‘ship’ ourselves.”
“I call Shelley ‘Fayana’ now,” Phoebe told us later when we met up with her on set. “When we’re together, we’re like ‘Fayana’s day out!’”
Despite the fact that Faye and Diana are regularly at odds on the show, we can look forward to some powerful moments between the two witches in upcoming episodes.
“On set yesterday, we did a scene together, and as soon as they called cut, Phoebe and I looked at each other, nodded, and at the same time, said, ‘Fayana,’” Shelley laughs. “We actually smiled at each other in the scene. I think the fans can look forward to seeing Fayana in a different light. There’s actually one particular scene that is pretty special between them.”
“There’s a Valentine’s Day episode that’s awesome,”Phoebe adds. “Because the four of us girls have a sleepover, and it’s just fun. It’s kind of what teenagers probably would use their magic on, which is like, making spells for hot boys.”
As for what else is in store for “The Secret Circle” witches, keep your eye on Zap2it — we’ve got much more coming up from Shelley, Phoebe, and the rest of the cast. Tune in to the show tonight (Thursday) at 9 p.m. EST on The CW!
Published February 2, 2012
by Carina Mackenzie
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