Dana Terrace Talks Owl House
Today, local Connecticut publication CT Insider released an interview with Owl House creator Dana Terrace. Terrace herself is from Connecticut, and Luz’s hometown of Gravesfield is in Connecticut, based on Terrace’s upbringing. In the conversation, Terrace discusses how her teen years influenced Luz’s character, the show’s reception, and more. Check out the highlights here:
“I use to live near an abandoned women’s prison and one of my pastimes was getting lost in the woods and exploring those hallways and probably putting myself in stupid situations. But I feel like that’s such a part of a teenager’s life in Connecticut; it felt like a natural parallel to put Luz in, especially living in the Boiling Isles (the magical realm) for most of the show and especially a show about witches and knowing just how much strife citizens of Connecticut were put in during the Hartford witch trials.”
“At first, [the executives] would see the show trending every other day on Twitter and be like, ‘Oh, anyone can trend on Twitter, that doesn’t actually mean anything,’ but seeing the views on YouTube and seeing the people who came to New York Comic Con [gave them] a much better idea that, ‘Oh no,’ the show is actually successful.’ For the crew, it’s extremely validating because we work our asses off.”
I totally recommend giving the full interview a look for more on the decision to give Luz a girlfriend and other people who worked on the show. It’s wild to hear that the higher-ups at Disney TV didn’t care about online metrics; these days, they’re probably more relevant than standard TV ratings. I know people who don’t even have cable and watch TV solely online and on streaming services. I knew Disney’s TV division was clueless for numerous reasons, but this really puts things in perspective. That being said, Terrace did defend her former bosses (to an extent) on Twitter:
I think it's important to note that Owl House would NOT be what it is if made at another studio. I was pitching this in 2016, I was a first time showrunner, most studios were looking for 11-min comedies and DTV was the only place that allowed me to have 22-minute episodes. (1/4)
— Dana Terrace (@DanaTerrace) October 21, 2022
Overall, I just can’t wait to see the final two specials. What do you think of the show, Terrace’s comments, or anything else? Tell us in the comments!
