With the new STARZ Original series Hightown premiering this Sunday night at 8pm ET, I recently spoke to producer Jerry Bruckheimer about the eight-episode first season. The series takes place in Provincetown, Massachusetts and follows a hard-partying National Marine Fisheries Service agent (Jackie Quiñones) who is attempting to get sober while trying to solve a murder. I caught the first two episodes before doing the interview and was absolutely pulled in by the performances and storytelling and will definitely continue watching the series. Hightown also stars James Badge Dale, Riley Voelkel, Shane Harper, Amaury Nolasco, Atkins Estimond and Dohn Norwood.
During the interview, Bruckheimer talked about how they pitched STARZ on more than one season, why he wanted Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison (Black Panther, Fruitvale Station) to direct the first two episodes, why they changed the title from P-town to Hightown, how they pulled off the cool opening credits, and more.
Check out what he had to say in the player below and further down the page is exactly what we talked about, the official synopsis and trailer.
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Jerry Bruckheimer:
- Why did the series change from being called P-town to Hightown?
- How they pulled off the cool opening credits.
- Why he wanted Rachel Morrison to direct the first two episodes.
- What would they have done if they weren’t allowed to film in Provincetown?
- What did they film when they were in Provincetown?
- When they pitched STARZ did the network want to know they had a plan for a multi-season series?
Here's the Hightown synopsis and trailer:
Hightown is set on iconic Cape Cod, and it follows one woman’s journey to sobriety, intertwined with an unfolding murder investigation. Jackie Quiñones, a hard-partying National Marine Fisheries Service agent, has her free-wheeling life thrown into disarray when she discovers a body on the beach – another casualty of Cape Cod’s opioid epidemic. As a result of this trauma, Jackie takes the first steps toward becoming sober— until she becomes convinced that it’s up to her to solve the murder. Now at odds with Sergeant Ray Abruzzo, an abrasive but effective member of the Cape Cod Interagency Narcotics Unit, Jackie starts to spiral. And she’s not alone. Ray, too, spins out of control; losing himself in the investigation. The lives of everyone connected to this murder crash and converge, reminding us just how complicated – and deadly – our addictions can be.
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Hightown is created and executive produced by Rebecca Cutter (“Gotham”) with Gary Lennon (“Power,” “Euphoria”) executive producing with Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Amazing Race”), Jonathan Littman (“Lucifer,” “The Amazing Race,” “CSI” franchise) and KristieAnne Reed (“Lucifer,” “L.A.’s Finest”) from Jerry Bruckheimer TV; Ellen H. Schwartz also serves as executive producer.
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