Robbie Amell talks 'Tomorrow People' renewal odds, teases three deaths

As The Tomorrow People‘s freshman season winds down, its renewal fate is still undecided. Even so, with the season’s biggest cliffhanger taking place last week, the show isn’t hitting the brakes anytime soon. Star Robbie Amell even promises five more deaths in Tomorrow‘s final two episodes. “Two people die in [episode] 21, and three people die in [episode] 22,” Amell teased. “Three of the five are main characters.”

So if the show is going out with a bang (or five), how does Amell feel about its renewal odds? “I know that [executive producer] Phil [Klemmer] has gone in and pitched season 2, and I’m very confident that Phil would pitch the hell out of a season 2 because he’s so good,” the actor said. “But I think a lot of it is just going to come down to what their pilots look like. If they want to give us — a show [that] has an established fan base, does really well internationally, and [has] 22 episodes in the bag — another shot on Mondays, or even move us to Fridays…I actually think that we would do well as a Friday show. Or if they want to give their new pilots a show. There’s no way of knowing; there’s so much politics involved in it. I’ve just kind of learned that you[‘ve] just got to go with it, and the right thing will happen.”

But Amell isn’t losing hope just yet. “I think that our season 2 — although very different than season 1, I think it would be a really great show that people would love. I feel like we’ve really found our footing in the second half of the season, especially episodes 16 to 22. I think those were our best episodes.”

And speaking of episodes 21 and 22, check out what Amell teased for the end of season 1 below:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How is Hillary’s death going to impact Stephen?

ROBBIE AMELL: If nothing else, it really raises the stakes. All the cards are on the table. We know where everybody stands, and The Founder is the bad guy, so if there’s anybody to take your anger out on, it’s The Founder. But mentally, it’s a really weird position for Stephen to be in, because this is a girl who he started off in a rivalry with. Then they built up this relationship, and you really, really thought she was a good guy. I even thought, me as myself reading the scripts, I thought she was a good guy right up until I read the end of the episode where she tells The Founder she’s got Stephen right where she wants him. I was floored by that. But then this girl, who he was pretty much in love with, betrayed him and his family and almost had his father killed and had John’s powers stripped. You can love someone but you can hate them at the same time, and the only way I can describe it is that Stephen hated Hillary right up until that moment where she said goodbye. He couldn’t do anything to stop it, and he’s just going to be in a really, really weird head space for the next two episodes. It’s really a two-part finale. It’s like an 86-minute finale, and it’s massive. The rides that all of the characters go on over the next two episodes are huge. There’s a big betrayal, there’s a couple new love interests.

And The Founder is still alive, correct?

Who knows. I mean yeah, he’s definitely alive. [Laughs]

How did he survive that?

Up until this point, he’s been the strongest Tomorrow Person there is. The nice thing about episode 21 is he doesn’t have Hillary anymore, he doesn’t have a mole, he doesn’t have an upper hand. The playing field is level, and this is the first time you’ll see The Founder as an equal, strategically. He’s still the most powerful Tomorrow Person, but from a strategic standpoint, the playing field is as level as it’s going to be.

And we have to talk about John. Did the treatment work? Is he human now?

John has no powers.

That’s so sad!

[Laughs] There’s a scene in 21 where we’re going off on this mission, and I mention that John has no powers. He makes it very clear that he may not have powers, but he can still help. John can kill. John’s an incredibly skilled fighter. And John’s a total badass. John’s as badass as can be with no powers.

And this is going to give us some more John and Astrid bonding, correct?

This is definitely going to give you some John and Astrid. You’ve never seen John interact with Astrid when they’re both humans, so there’s a really cool dynamic between the two of them when they meet as humans for the first time.

The other big twist last week was Russell and the others getting injected with a mystery serum. What can you tease about the serum?

The serum is The Founder’s last upper hand. And it plays a large part in a very huge betrayal in episode 21. The only main Tomorrow Person that has it is Russell, and it plays a large part in his storyline for episodes 21 and 22.

The final episode descriptions mention Russell putting Roger’s life in danger. So how will this affect his relationship with Stephen?

Stephen finally has his dad back. Everything up until this point, you’ve seen either in flashbacks or in limbo, and Stephen’s kind of been a boy meeting his father. And when he brings him back, I feel like Stephen has just become a man. But with that being said, he is still a boy with his father. Like any son would, he wants his dad to be there for him and to help protect him. But if someone messes with your family, especially a friend, they don’t exactly get a pass.

The Tomorrow People airs tonight at 9 p.m. on The CW.