The writers and creators behind some of television’s biggest limited series took to the stage at Variety Night in the Writer’s Room on May 7 to give viewers a glimpse into the creative process and adaptation of material for television.
Moderated by Jazz Tunkay, Variety’s senior journeyman editor, this year’s panel featured Annie Wiseman of Imperfect Women, Connor Hines of Love Story, Mike Murkowski of Death by Lightning, and Ian Brennan of Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
The creators talked about developing the show and adapting their respective source material, whether true story or novel.
In the case of “Death by Lightning,” which focuses on the assassination of President James Garfield, screenwriter and producer Murkowski said he first encountered the novel seven years ago during a BOGO sale at Barnes & Noble. “When I wrote[the show]I tried to have fun because I didn’t want it to feel like a typical period drama,” Murkowski said. “I think the themes of this show are still very relevant today, so I wanted it to be something that would resonate in the 21st century as well.”
For Wiseman, “Imperfect Women” was brought to her by Elisabeth Moss, who starred and executive produced the Apple TV drama. Although the novel is set in England, Wiseman explained some changes he had to make to set the story in America, including creating an interracial friendship.
Hines’ Love Story and Brennan’s Monster are both Ryan Murphy projects, albeit very different in nature, both based on real history. Hines said he “fell down the rabbit hole” after watching “The Crown,” which tells the story of the British royal family, about the Kennedys, the closest American royal family. Hines, who was sensitive to the fact that John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette are beloved public figures, explained that they were given “great care” during the investigation process. “What drew me to this project was how much I loved their love story and how much respect I had for John and Carolyn and their family…Compassion was our north star in the creative process.”
According to Brennan, the story behind Monster was “difficult” to land, noting that serial killer Ed Gein “existed in the background”, making it difficult to focus on him as a subject. “He’s kind of an enigmatic figure, and that’s both an opportunity and an obstacle,” Brennan said. “You’re guessing, but we’re actually trying to tell a more complete story.”
Casting actors to resemble real people was a unique process shared by panel participants.
Moss reached out to his “Imperfect Women” co-stars Kerry Washington and Kate Mara, a process Wiseman describes as “comfortably smooth,” but things like this don’t often happen. Director Murkowski gave the actors a challenge, saying, “We cast Michael Shannon as the president, this noble, lawful good guy, and Matthew Macfadyen as the madman who kills him. Most people would expect Matthew Macfadyen to play the White Hat and Michael Shannon to play the flailing madman. So it was really fun to see them both go against type.”
Brennan called Monster’s cast members Charlie Hunnam, Laurie Metcalf, Vicki Krieps and Tom Hollander “an embarrassment of riches” and shared an anecdote about how Hunnam used to listen to all the Gein audio tapes he found to improve his Midwestern accent.
Paul Kelly, who made his acting debut in Love Story, was the final piece of the casting puzzle. “Casting one of the most glamorous, glamorous, beautiful and charismatic couples of the 20th century proved to be extremely difficult. They have spent years promoting that image around the world,” Hines said, adding that he was looking for people with an “X-factor” and not just actors. We had Kelly on set two weeks before filming began, and we instantly knew we wanted him to play JFK Jr. “Most importantly, Sarah Pidgeon (Bessette) had a moment of realization. She was like, ‘This is the person.'”
