Person of Interest Preview: “Wingman” [Exclusive Kevin Chapman INTERVIEW and VIDEO] 

WARNING: Spoilers for tonight’s episode

So much of recent Person of Interest memory has been intense and dramatic. Tonight, the show lightens things up a little bit thanks to Fusco’s undercover op, a case that forces him to dust off his dating and interpersonal communication skills.

Synopsis for “Wingman”: Finch recruits Fusco to stick close to the latest POI, a professional “wingman,” but learning how to approach women soon becomes the least of his worries. Meanwhile, Reese must find a way to play by the rules at his new day job as the Machine sends Finch and Root on a mysterious errand.

Giving us some help on this preview is Fusco himself, Kevin Chapman. The awesome actor exclusively talked to us about some of the elements we’re going to see in “Wingman.” It’s simply a lot of fun to watch Finch deal with some of his issues and the walls he’s constructed based on his past relationships. Fusco’s going to have to dig deep in order to let the latest Person of Interest advise him on how to interact with women. “The whole goal behind “Wingman” was to make a lighter episode of POI,” he said. “There was a pitch on the table in the writing room that involved Fusco at the heart of it. We don’t often get to do personal stories on this show, so it was really a fun, action-packed adventure for everybody — for the crew, for the actors, everyone involved.”

It’s an adventure Fusco takes on, but it’s not without some ups and downs. He not only has to act the part of a confident guy who knows how to talk to women, he has to look the part, too. That requires him to get out of the detective suit and into something a little more spiffy. Chapman loved every bit of it. “It was great, are you kidding me? It was so much fun.”

But what impressed him the most was being out there on location. “My favorite shot was Fusco and the Wingman walking up one of the side streets in Soho and just seeing New York in the background. Cinematically, Fred Toye — our director — did an amazing job with the piece, you know?”

A big part of the episode also involves Fusco’s new partnership. He and Reese share different philosophies on being a cop and dealing with authority. That’s putting it mildly. “Now they’re partners. Here’s a guy that has been torturing Fusco for the last three years from the shadows and now he has to look up and see him sitting across the desk from him. How is that gonna work out? How is Reese going to handle working a real job? We all know that Reese doesn’t do a very good job playing by the rules. I’m sure it’s not gonna be easy.”

There’s a brand new captain at the precinct, played by Lie to Me‘s Monique Curnen. And she immediately has an effect on how things are going to be for Detectives Fusco and Reese. “There’s going to be a tremendous amount of accountability that Fusco and Reese are both going to have to be present for,” Chapman said. “I really like the way the writers made that character a reflection of police policies throughout the country into present day. It’s not one of these hard-nosed Axel Foley-type bosses screaming over the desk at them. It’s exactly what police departments reflect today. It’s all about quality of life issues, give me statistics. It’s all about results. Give me facts. Give me something that I can bring back. So I really like the fact that they approach her character kind of from that perspective.

There was a moment in the season four premiere (“Panopticon”) where Fusco finds out Reese is his new partner and John is assigned to Carter’s old desk. The show, once again, was able to honor the late detective. For Chapman, he feels Fusco owes a lot to his former partner. “I think Fusco will always have some level of debt in his heart to the memory of Det. Carter and I think that’s why it was so important for Fusco to be the one to apprehend her killer, just based on those principles alone. So I think that presence will always be there in some shape or form.”

Person of Interest airs tonight at 10/9c on CBS.

VIDEO