Foundation Season 3 is days away, and here at Nerdgazm, we’re continuing our conversations with the cast of the hit AppleTV+ series. Following our conversation with series star Jared Harris, we’re switching sides to talk to Empire. Lee Pace and Laura Birn, who play Brother Day and Lady Demerzel, join us to talk about what their characters will face in the upcoming third season. This interview was a blast, so while you can read it below, we encourage you to watch the video interview on the Nerdgazm YouTube channel.
Brother Day and Lady Demerzel in Foundation Season 3
Jack: Both of you, we find you now 152 years into the future with Season 3. We saw how the relationship between Brother Day and Lady Demerzel worked in Season 2; how has it changed for Season 3? Who wants to dive in first?
Lee: Well, I am a different Cleon. I guess we can start there, and she (Laura) is the same Demerzel (laughs). Except now she has the Prime Radiant, and that gives her a whole bunch more power, which is the last thing she needs. I’m teasing! I need to stop! This season.
Laura: This season was rough, for me!
Lee: This season Cleon hates Demerzel! “It” he calls her.
Laura: And she just keeps loving him! She is so forgiving, she cares for him,,she loves him…
Lee: It’s the same way your iPhone loves you!
Laura: Hey! Shut up! Are you comparing me to your iPhone?
Lee: Not you Laura, Demerzel! You I love!
Laura: Oh my god!
Lee: The whole thing we are meditating on in the story is technology and people.
Laura: As a child, all the love and things and the nurturing…. Jesus. No respect!

Lee: So this season, Cleon.. (Demerzel) is not the only thing he hates. He hates the brothers too. He hates anyone who tries they control people’s business, so he is gonna mind his own business and kick back in the garden and get stoned and hang out with his girlfriend. He’s minding his own business. That is his role as emperor of the galaxy. It makes a lot of sense to me. That’s where he starts.
Lee: Then, The Mule enters the story this season. Anyone who is a fan of the books recognised The Mule as a pretty badass character. It gets really good this season. Have you seen this season?
Jack: All nine episodes so far (there are 10). It’s explosive.
Lee: Yeah, it gets wild! We have all different kinds of characters this season. One i thing I love about this show, is you’ve got the emperor of the galaxy, the robot who controls him and you’ve then got a pair of influencers. You have like these different random people all over the galaxy who are responding to the same kind of tidal wave of events. Those different perspectives help paint the picture of the vastness of the galaxy.

Laura Birn On Demerzel’s Power with Empire.
Jack: The second season rally showed the power that Demerzel wields with Empire; does that sort of change for the third season, I guess with what Lee has said there about Brother Day not wanting to be around, does Demerzel have more power now?
Laura: It’s complicated as she has the Prime Radiant, which offers her information that only Gaal and Hari Seldon previously had in the universe, but at the same time there are so many questions that arise with the Prime Radiant and she has the power, but at the same time she does not have the middle throne and she is guiding and consumed with the Prime Radiant that the Cleons are drifting away from her. She has the power, but she also has the question of where she is heading, where the whole dynasty is heading, and what it means for her.
Laura: She is the last one of her species. She is no one; she is by herself. So, what does it mean if the dynasty falls? She is programmed to serve the dynasty. Where does it leave her? What is good for humanity? All these questions. She is deeply conflicted, and I feel she is also using her power, which she has in abundance; however, she is also the most imprisoned person in the galaxy. So, it’s not as if she’s freely using the power, but she’s trying to navigate that whole situation.
Jack: It sounds explosive for the third season! Season 3 is looking fantastic. Thank you both for taking the time to speak with us today. We’re very excited!
Lee & Laura: Thank you!

All Ahead to Foundation Season 3!
Thanks to AppleTV+ for giving Nerdgazm the chance to speak with Jared Harris. Stick around this week, as we have more interviews from the cast of Foundation.
The complete first and second seasons of “Foundation” are now streaming globally on Apple TV+. The 10-episode season will debut globally with one episode on Friday, July 11, on Apple TV+, followed by new episodes weekly, every Friday, through September 12. The Apple Original drama is produced for Apple TV+ by Skydance Media, not Skydance Television.
This Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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