"While documentaries and news reports about the opioid epidemic have proliferated in recent years, drama has largely stayed away from the subject, meaning that complex, humane stories about people with addiction have been harder to find," says Sophie Gilbert. Hightown creator Rebecca Cutter's vision for Monica Raymund's character "began when, driving in her car one night, she was suddenly struck by the idea of Jackie, a 'charismatic alcoholic lady-killer' by night who’s unapologetic about her sexuality, who loves her job in federal law enforcement, and whose partying is a consuming crutch that enables her not to get too invested in anything or anyone," says Gilbert. "Raymund was drawn to the character not only for how rare it was 'to be able to play a Latina lesbian as the lead,' ... but also for how the show isn’t about the various boxes Jackie fits into so much as it’s interested in “her demons, her addictions, and her purpose as a person in the world.” As Gilbert notes, Hightown is led by females. “It makes a huge difference,” says Raymund. “It makes the biggest difference in my career. Automatically, there’s a feeling of agency, autonomy. There’s a feeling of sisterhood … equality. It feels like there’s finally a seat at the table, and with that comes self-worth and confidence, and working from a place of curiosity and commitment rather than fear.” Cutter, meanwhile, says she wanted Hightown to have all the fun elements of a gripping crime drama: sex, violence, and humor. “The show isn’t prescriptive,” says Cutter. “I don’t have a solution, and I don’t have a villain, and I don’t have a Why did this happen?”
ALSO:
TOPICS: Hightown, Starz, Monica Raymund, Rebecca Cutter