Any procedural worth their salt has a ship. For USA Network’s Anna Pigeon, we’re lucky enough to have two: Anna & Jesse and Anna & Frederick. But just because there’s romantic tension, and they’ve acted on it, doesn’t mean the ship is going to sail. After all, this is just the beginning of this journey on Anna Pigeon. And we’re a long way away from Anna settling down again.
To talk about Anna Pigeon and the two men involved in these ships, Fangirlish sat down with Cooper Levy, who plays Jesse, and Ronnie Rowe, who plays Agent Frederick, to talk about their characters. But we also talked to them about what it was like working with the iconic Tracy Spiridakos, what kind of men their characters are, and whether they’re wilderness people.
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Starting off with something fun, Levy and Rowe are very in line with their characters’ opinions about the outdoors. But for Levy, he loves all parts of being outdoors. “I love camping and being outdoors. I think it kind of contradicts with the character I play a little bit because he’s, you know, he’s an environmentalist. But you can tell he loves certain parts of nature. […] But I love nature. I think nature is great. I’ve been going camping in Algonquin Park and different parts of Ontario since I was a kid.”
For Rowe, he’s on the opposite site of the spectrum and very in line with Frederick not being a fan of the outdoors. “Absolutely not,” he shared with us, “But you know what? I’m not opposed to it. But would it be my first choice to tough it out in a sleeping bag in a tent? Absolutely not. But it was really, really a pleasure to be out in Alberta shooting and every day was just like you’re in awe with the beauty.”
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Anna Pigeon as a series is set in Montana’s Glacier National Park, with the books spanning various national parks across the United States. But for the TV show, the show is shot on location in Canada’s Kananaskis mountains, which neighbors Banff National Park according to USA Network.
Rowe went on to share how he thought that the show has really captured the beauty described in Nevada Barr’s beloved Anna Pigeon book series. “She was so descriptive with painting this beautiful picture of nature and stuff like that. [So I think I’m leaning towards wanting to try but if you ask me right now, heck no. If I see a bug, I’m running. I’m letting Cooper take care of that.” In between laughs Levy perked up, taking this responsibility seriously and saying, “I’ll squash bugs. I’ll do it.
Then there’s the Anna of it all, the heart of this story played by our lead Tracy Spridakos. Both Rowe and Levy have very complicated relationships with Anna. For Rowe’s Frederick, he’s drawn to Anna. And they’ve had some tense moments before becoming intimate in “The Three Matt Skweikis” and then parting ways. For now, at least.
So we wanted to know what Rowe thinks it is about Anna that draws Frederick in. Rowe says it’s: adoration. He said, “I think Frederick sees a lot of himself in Anna. And he’s a cool cucumber, except when it comes to her. You know, like, she knows how to push his buttons. But I think Anna could get away with a lot more than most people could with Frederick.”
Even the murder of Anna’s husband and the investigation that Frederick is opening has to do with him seeing himself in Anna. “I think there’s parts of Frederick that still aren’t healed. And I think if he can help her heal some parts of herself, that means that there’s hope for him. So that’s why he cares about her.”
With an answer like that from Rowe, we’re crossing our fingers that the bond between Frederick and Anna isn’t over.
Then there’s Levy’s Jesse. His character is a little more green in comparison to Anna and Frederick. But he cares deeply for Anna to the point of asking her to move in with him and contemplating not taking a big job because of the bond they share. So we wanted to know a little more as to what leads Jesse to see something like that being possible with Anna. For Levy, Jesse is really leading with his heart.
Levy said, “I think everyone goes through moments in their life where they have fun, they are out there being wild. And then, you make that pivot in life that you want to settle down and you want to find the one you want to be emotionally and psychologically connected with. He wants something with substance. And I think he sees security that he’s never seen before in someone like Anna.”
So while Frederick sees a lot of himself in Anna, Jesse sees a future with Anna. “I think there’s the intimacy that Anna and Jesse have. The chemistry’s there. […] He wants something of substance. And I think he sees security that he’s never seen before in someone like Anna.” He also added, “He’s always been a little all over the place with his emotions. And now I think he’s finding that [with Anna.]”
Considering what happened in Anna Pigeon Season 1 Episode 8 “The Death Grin,” his journey with Anna… well, they’re not on the same page. But just like I think it’s not the end for Anna and Frederick after he drove away in “The Three Matt Skweikis,” I don’t think it’s over with Jesse either, even if he takes that assistant job. At least I hope not. After all, we’re still in Season 1. Anything can happen. Even after what happened to Jesse in the river…
Then of course there’s Spridakos herself. When we asked about her, Rowe in particular had nothing but good things to say as Levy happily nodded along in agreement. Because Anna herself doesn’t fit into the mold that society continuously tries to put women into. “I think that’s part of the reason why people are so drawn to Anna, slash Tracy, is because she’s such a powerhouse.” She is. And we agree with Rowe that “Tracy did a phenomenal job [as Anna.]”
Here’s hoping for Season 2 of Anna Pigeon where we get to see more of Ronnie Rowe’s Agent Frederick, Cooper Levy’s Jesse, and most importantly Tracy Spiridakos’ Anna.
Anna Pigeon airs new episodes Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network.
