'Big Love' has big plans

What they do hear from polygamists is not hate e-mail. "They actually like us," Scheffer said. "They feel like we are actually giving a voice to them. They don't feel like they've every been represented in the press except by people like Warren Jeffs and Tom Green. So they feel like this is actually a characterization of their lifestyle that they can get behind."

"Now, they're not 100 percent happy with 100 percent of the characterization," Olsen cautioned. "They're not happy with some of the sexualization, which I feel like we pulled back from this year." That's a fact.

This is still an HBO show, but it's quite mild for an HBO show — generally not a lot more "adult" than shows on the broadcast networks. And the language, for an HBO show, is almost shockingly mild, too. "Yeah, 'Jiminy Crickets' is about as far as we go," Scheffer said. "That and 'Oh, my heck.' That we got ... in Salt Lake City. ... We got it from a cop, actually. He said, 'You've got to use "Oh, my heck.""'

Season 3 will be somewhat different from Season 2 because, for one thing, Season 2 won't end with a cliffhanger the way Season 1 did when the family was "outed" as polygamists.

"That really required that we tie up some stuff when we started the new season," Scheffer said. "This year's ending really pushes us in a big way toward the next season. It's much more proactive than last season. There's not a lot to wrap up, there's stuff to pursue."

"Part of that came out of artistic desire. Part of that came out of a very strong injunction from HBO going — 'No cliffhangers this season,"' Olsen said. "I think they wanted to started a third season fresh, clean, and push forward rather than the first couple of episodes resolving this season."

Speaking of pushing forward, there will be "a little bit of a time jump" between the Season 2 finale and the Season 3 premiere — "at least six months," Scheffer said.

"So that we don't have an 8-year-old character being played by a 14-year-old." Olsen said.

While there won't be any blatant cliffhangers, it's not as if everything will be tied up in a neat package when Season 2 concludes Aug. 27.

"There are resolutions to several story questions — thematic questions that have been explored and/or building during this season," Olsen said. "So there is a nice closure on several stories. And there are a couple of surprising developments that will thrust us out into the next season."

"We do have two stories that I can think of that are, like, 'What's going to happen next?"' Scheffer said. "So there is some cliffhanging. It's just not as much the major story with our family. It's more like side stories with side characters."

Do you suppose any of that will have to do with Burstyn's character?

Hmmmm. ...

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com