#The Republic of Sarah’s Luke Mitchell Talks About His Complex Character, His Life on TV, and Filming during Covid

Aussie actor Luke Mitchell is back on U.S. television thanks to a drama set in a small New England town filmed near Montreal.

Welcome to the international world of TV.

Mitchell is starring in the new drama The Republic of Sarah, airing at 9 p.m. Mondays on The CW.

Sarah is fairly high-concept for The CW. A large vein of a valuable mineral used in electronics is discovered under the small town of Greylock, N.H. Sarah Cooper, a local history teacher, attempts to save the town using a legal loophole built on mapping errors from colonial times.

Mitchell found the show’s concept intriguing.

“I was really drawn to the world,” he recalled in a Zoom interview from Sydney. “I really liked the small-town vibe and the fact that everyone knows everyone. There are cute, quirky, flawed characters that all have a past, all have their own challenges to work through.”

Mitchell was coming off the legal drama The Code, too quickly canceled by CBS in 2019. Still, he didn’t hesitate after learning about Sarah.

“After reading this script and meeting with Jeff King and Jeff Grosvenor, I just had a really good vibe right from the onset,” he said. “They set a really good tone there. They have a no-asshole policy, which is very evident once you meet the rest of the cast. Also, the crew was wonderful.”

The villains in Sarah are corporate and political entities.

But Mitchell’s character, Danny Cooper, a prodigal son returning to Greylock, is the point man for mining company Lydon Industries and becomes a lightning rod as a result.

Sarah’s older brother, Danny, fled town at age 16 after being abused by their alcoholic politician mother, Ellen. He left behind Sarah and his longtime girlfriend Corinne, Sarah’s best friend.

Danny enjoys playing who he considers to be the story’s most complicated character:

“There’s a lot to play with, so many different colors,” he said. “As the season progresses, there is incremental evolution for the character, so I’m not just playing the same note all the time.

“There’s also the thing of using his poker face. There’s professional Danny, and there’s private Danny, and I think it’s really interesting to see the difference between those two.”

So what brought Danny back to Greylock?

“There are a few different answers here, and they’re not necessarily disconnected from each other,” Mitchell explained.

“I think this was a big opportunity for the company, so Danny wants to prove himself within the company, first and foremost. Secondly, he wants to prove himself to himself and to the town he feels abandoned by.

“Also, on a subconscious level, he’s drawn back. I think he knows deep down that he does need to face his demons, whether he acknowledges it outwardly or not. There’s a little bit of that going on as well. It’s a multi-faceted thing.”

Initially, it appeared that Danny was just back to gain revenge on the town he felt ignored his plight. But more shades of Danny come out as the season progresses.

“I suppose it’s a perspective thing, really,” Mitchell cautioned. “Danny has really more than his fair share of challenges to work through. I don’t see those challenges ending in the near future.

“Danny’s going to have to sort through his mess. The more time he spends in Greylock, the more he’s forced to face the demons of his past. And how he responds to that remains to be seen.”

First, Danny has to mend fences with his family.

“I think there is a lot of hope/light at the end of the tunnel for him and Sarah,” Mitchell opined. “I think Sarah is the key for Danny for him to heal to his fullest extent and to unlock new levels of love. I think Danny is in deficit of love, and that’s something that needs to be rectified.

“And he’s certainly not going to get that from his mom. I don’t see any reconciliation between them. It’s a very challenging storyline, and it’s going to be interesting to see Ellen’s journey and where it takes her.”

A mystery for Danny is that Corinne’s son Josh’s age corresponds with the number of years ago that Danny had left. So how long before Danny and viewers find out who Josh’s father is?

“You will find out who Josh’s father is later in the season,” Mitchell hinted. “But that is a relatively big storyline that has a few twists and turns to it and isn’t necessarily an obvious storyline.”

Living back in Greylock is a challenge for Danny.

“It’s a huge balancing act,” Mitchell explained. “It’s very important that he has a safe zone because as confident as he is at his job, as intelligent as he is, he’s still a broken little boy inside. Having his hotel room to retreat to and to be able to let the facade drop is extremely important.”

Sarah was filmed in Knowlton, Quebec, two hours outside of Montreal, last winter. Mitchell enjoyed the experience.

“We absolutely loved it,” he said. “As the season progresses, any exterior scene you see is pretty much a whiteout. And it’s all real snow because that’s just what that part of the world does. Visually it looked stunning. It made it a challenge acting in very cold temperatures.”

Another challenge was filming during the Covid pandemic, being based in a French-speaking city none of the cast had been to before.

“It was intense,” Mitchell recalled. “I think we all bonded very quickly because of that. We called it trauma bonding because you couldn’t go out and do things. It was pretty much the highest level of restrictions the entire time. When we did have human interactions, we clung to it. There was a real camaraderie we built on and off set.”

The Gold Coast native has been working on TV series for almost 15 years, starting in his native Australia. His favorite early role was as Will Benjamin on the show H20: Just Add Water.

As for his favorite U.S. series, Mitchell chose his role as Roman Briggs, Jane’s brother on Blindspot.

“Blindspot has a very special place in my heart, just because it was probably my biggest challenge,” he said.

“It was the character that was most different to me. I just got to do so many cool things. Martin Gero was a real gift to me. It really challenged me and grew me as an actor. That was a really special experience.”

In 2013, Mitchell married his Home and Away costar Rebecca Breeds, who is now waiting on the fate of her CBS drama Clarice. (That’s right, Clarice Starling, that cracker FBI agent, is played by an Aussie actress.)

What Mitchell has enjoyed most about Sarah is working with the cast.

“They were wonderful actors and spectacular human beings,” he said. “I think we all made really great friends, and we’d all legitimately love to keep making this show for years to come.

“I’ve worked on a few shows now, and I know that’s not always the case. It’s really wonderful to complete the first season of the show and say, ‘Yeah, I would really love for this to keep going.’”

Return to TV Fanatic on Monday nights for reviews of The Republic of Sarah after the show airs at 9/8c on The CW, and watch The Republic of Sarah online if you need to catch up.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.