One of the defining relationships in The Tick is between Arthur and Dot. In the past Dot has been depicted as a domineering, nagging one-sided character who tries to keep Arthur from going off and pursuing his dreams of being a superhero. However, according to the cast of Amazon’s The Tick, the relationship between Arthur and Dot is developed into something more multi-dimensional in this iteration.

Screen Rant spoke to Griffin Newman and Valorie Curry at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 about the relationship between Arthur and Dot in the new iteration of Amazon’s The Tick.

Could you talk to me about the relationship of this iteration between Arthur and Dot?

Griffin Newman: Yeah. That’s one of my favorite things about this show because Dot’s existed in every previous version of the show, but she’s never been this fleshed out as a character. She’s always just been representational of this doubting family, the family who’s there to question your dreams and nag you. And on this show she really is, we both come from this tragic backstory. Our father died as collateral damage in this big superhero battle when we were very young and our mother checked out, so Dot had to become my surrogate mother figure in a lot of ways. So we have a really interesting, complex relationship where she is very nervous about me stepping into a situation like this not because she doesn’t believe in me, but because she is really intensely worried. And this season is, the main emotional arc of this season is convincing her that I need to do this, that this is me living my life. This is what I’ve always been destined to do.

The Tick (2016) - Griffin Newman and Peter Serafinowicz

Now how much research did you do for the character since its been in every iteration of the comic? I believe it was in the animated series and in the old TV show. How much research did you do on that stuff?

Valorie Curry: I really didn’t look to the previous versions of Dot. I pretty much wanted to start fresh with her because I believed there would be a tendency to connect to those kinds of humor, that sarcasm, that cynicism. And that’s exactly what I didn’t want her to be. I don’t want her to be the straight man who’s judging the world around her because there is a real temptation to do that when you are the straight man in an absurd world. So, for me, it was more about the human research with the relationship with Arthur. The fact that she is an EMT. She is a med student. She is also a badass at a sport that I can’t wait for you guys to see. She is somebody who has to constantly be doing something. So it was more about who this person that she has to constantly be moving, that she has to constantly be useful. She is endlessly capable, but often underestimated. So it was more about gathering those pieces as a human and also creating a real relationship with Griffin, who plays Arthur, so that history between them is clear from the beginning.

MORE: Peter Serafinowicz Interview for The Tick

The Tick premieres on Amazon August 25, 2017.