During an interview with The Futon Critic, Dollhouse creator Joss Wheldon was asked about the new show.

Specifically, Wheldon responded to a question about the dark and twisted elements of the human psyche on which Dollhouse will focus...

There's some very borderline stuff about what they are doing, about how evil it is and I think ultimately some people may be kind of shocked by the show even though it doesn't present itself as a very shocking thing. It presents itself as sort of a straight ahead - with its own twist - thrilling drama.

I'm lucky because I have an amazing cast - people like Olivia Williams. She plays the woman who runs the Dollhouse or as she herself has said, "I'm British, of course I'm a villain!" And it's so easy to play it as a villainous part and Olivia Williams is enormously sympathetic and has a great sadness so that every time she does something actually terrible, she makes you feel sorry for her.

And every time she does something surprising decent, she'll do it in a very snarky fashion. And [her performance] sort of embodies that duality.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.