Viewers of ABC’s “FlashForward” might be confused.
The series (tonight at 8 on WCVB, Ch. 5), about a worldwide blackout that caused people to see glimpses of their futures, has become more complex since its premiere.
Don’t worry.
Series star Sonya Walger, who plays Dr. Olivia Benford, doesn’t know what’s going on, either.
“I know absolutely nothing,” Walger said in a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles.
“I remember sitting down to dinner with (executive producer) David Goyer and him saying, ‘I warn you now, I won’t give you much.’ And I remember feeling, ‘That won’t last long. How is that going to work?’ And, honestly, the more time goes by, the more I really enjoy being in the moment of it.
“We have no idea how we’ll end up in six months’ time, so it keeps you very present as an actor to only really be able to play the scenes in front of you.”
The London native was looking forward to filming a second season of the HBO series “Tell Me You Love Me” and then that show was canceled.
“I was very sad because I loved the show and the writing was so superb, it set the bar pretty high. So I had gone to my agents saying, ‘I don’t want to do anything that isn’t as good as that, so let’s find it.’ ‘FlashForward’ was one of the first scripts that they brought me . . . I barely closed the last page when I rang them back, saying, ‘Whatever it takes, I’ll jump through whatever hoops. Let’s make this happen.’ ”
In the pilot, viewers learned that in Olivia’s flash, she saw herself with another man, not her husband, FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes). Does she have any theories as to why Olivia seemingly is having an affair?
“I really don’t,” she said. “It’s a very different experience when you’re in a show as opposed to watching a show, it really is. My desire to speculate is not the same as if I were a viewer, because I’m immersed in it. I’m so caught up in the day-to-day of Olivia’s life.”
Many viewers remember the Oxford graduate for playing Desmond’s (Henry Ian Cusick) true love Penny Widmore on “Lost.” Walger is not sure whether Penny will return for the upcoming final season, but she has fond memories of her work.
“Ian and I were really lucky because we were written for in a really beautiful way,” she said. “You don’t need to have watched all five seasons of ‘Lost’ to know what Desmond and Penny are going through. It’s just a really wonderful epic love story, which is, in its heart, very simple.”
As for what’s ahead on “FlashForward,” Walger is cryptic.
“There’s an episode that comes up that resets all the rules all over again,” she said. “Suddenly all bets are off. I can’t say more.”
