'Revolution' Boss: Episodes Will Be 'More Shocking,' Uprising Will Begin

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J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke at winter TCA

Revolution executive producer Eric Kripke was thankful for the unexpected break in-season to get their ducks in order.

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What "the little break has afforded us is the ability to take a breath, look at what we've done and really analyze it," he told reporters Sunday at the show's Television Critics Association winter press tour session. Though he believed the first 10 episodes were successful ("I think we did a lot of things right"), he did concede that there were aspects to Revolution that could be better.

"I felt like we could pick up the pace of the stunning revelations," Kripke said. "The pace of the shocking surprises were a little too slow ... and we really wanted to have a second [half] that was bigger, better, more exciting and more revelations -- at the same time maintaining the format."

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He added: "Making it more shocking more often." The show will continue to have self-enclosed episodes, however.

The break gave the actors a rare monthlong hiatus during production. And because Revolution is a heavily serialized show with a moving mythology, using a cable model seemed to be the best option. "The audience is OK to see eight episodes in December and 10 episodes in June," NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said during the exec session. "Then you can run them all in a row. I think that's a better long-term play."

When Revolution returns in late March, the first episode will "pick up exactly where we leave off," Kripke hinted, adding that giving Sebastian Monroe (David Lyons) "power was about giving him an unstoppable force that your heroes are outmanned and overwhelmed as they battle against him."

"We start to deliver officially on the promise of the title and the revolution begins," Kripke teased. "Can this family ... stick together in the face of these overwhelming odds and overwhelming dangers? Can you maintain your soul when you're a warrior?"

Kripke noted that he has a multiseason plan, with "cocktail napkin sketches" for seasons two and three.

The new trailer for Revolution below:

Revolution returns March 25 on NBC.

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