Agam Darshi and Dolly Lewis Play ‘Hide-and-Seek’ on the Set of SIGHT UNSEEN

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede No walls can separate Agam Darshi and Dolly Lewis. Even though their characters are technologically linked in CTV’s SIGHT UNSEEN, Darshi and Lewis savour the fleeting moments they get to spend together in person. “What was interesting in Season 2 was that, when I was shooting, Dolly was next door shooting her stuff with the police department, and we were shooting at the same time,” Darshi recalled. “In Season 1, we didn’t do that. But during the second season, we would know that the other person was on set. And even though the filming schedule was really tight and fast-paced, we would try to find a moment where we could just run away, and go to see the other person, and say hi, and give them a hug, and be like, ‘hey, what are you guys doing over there?’ ” But just like kids playing hide-and-seek, Darshi and Lewis were always discovered. “Sure enough, there’d be a PA (production assistant) who would rush in and find us, and they’d be radioing someone to say, ‘I found her,’ and we would be quickly escorted back,” Darshi said with a laugh. Nonetheless, Darshi’s Sunny Patel and Lewis’ Tess Avery are as close as ever in SIGHT UNSEEN, which wraps up its second season with a new episode on Monday, March 24 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, and streaming the next day on Crave. Tess is a former Vancouver homicide detective who had to surrender her full-time position due to sight loss. With the help of seeing-eye guide Sunny, Tess is continuing to work with the police as a consultant. Meanwhile, Sunny has her own issues, which include agoraphobia and PTSD. So while Sunny and Tess aren’t even in the same city (Sunny is in New York), they’re linked via live audio and video. It’s a cool concept for a TV show, but given Sunny’s comparative isolation, does Darshi sometimes feel as if she’s in a one-woman play? “Absolutely, and it’s funny, because in Season 1, there was so much more charm to that,” Darshi said. “I still love Sunny’s apartment. And I still love being there. But I think in the second season, I was feeling the cabin fever a little bit more. There were a lot of new actors, and new characters, who were working with the police department, so sometimes I felt like there was a party I was missing out on.” To be fair to Sunny, she has made significant progress on multiple fronts in Season 2. Through diligent research and keen observation, she has been much more active in helping solve crimes. She is also seeing a therapist, which has led to some breakthroughs. And there is hope for her fledgling romantic relationship with Kye, played by Ennis Esmer. But it’s the expanding friendship between Sunny and Tess, showing both characters at their best and at their worst, that anchors SIGHT UNSEEN. “The reactions have been really positive, and I think a lot of people understand Sunny because of Tess, you know?” Darshi said. “That dynamic has moved a lot of people. I’ve heard from many viewers who say, ‘I love your character, it’s a great show,’ but I think they love the character because they understand the relationship between Sunny and Tess.” Part of that comes down to how most human beings see themselves. “I think in a lot of ways, both Tess and Sonny are misfits, right?” Darshi continued. “And I think a lot of people see themselves as misfits. I don’t know many people who actually feel like, ‘yeah, I totally belong in this world.’ Everybody feels a little bit like an outcast. And so I think maybe, as viewers just get to know these characters, they see these two women who are trying really hard to make some sense of this crazy world that they live in.” It’s probably true that few people honestly believe that they’re the “cool kid.” “And I’m suspicious of those who do,” Darshi replied. Speaking of suspicions, the Season 2 finale of SIGHT UNSEEN has Tess coming face-to-face with the man she believes killed her mother 20 years ago. Meanwhile, Sunny takes a big risk in an attempt to convince herself that she has overcome her agoraphobia. “Sunny lives in this little world, and she just wants to be needed,” Darshi said. “She’s just incredibly sensitive, in a world that tells you to stop feeling, and to just grow thicker skin. I remember being told that a lot as a kid, to stop being so sensitive. The world out there is very dense. But both Sunny and Tess are struggling with things that are very personal to them.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv