Inside the Writers’ Room

by Todd Harthan, Supervising Producer

We developed the second season of “Crash” one character at a time. Plot is very important, but this is a very character-driven show. So the development has been focused on who these characters are. 

It’s a long and intense process in the writers’ room! We’re juggling a handful of storylines and that means long hours. It’s a big, open forum in there and what’s great about working for showrunner/executive producer Ira Steven Behr is he throws out job titles and ego when we’re working in the room. It’s about good ideas and good storytelling. It’s not about who’s boss (although he’s the boss). Every episode of season two has been a true team effort. It starts in the writers’ room. It gets heated and awkward at times, but that’s part of the drill. We also laugh a lot. I mean, 10 hours in a room with four other people will yield laughter as well as every other emotion imaginable. 

Sometimes the credited writer writes the whole episode, and sometimes certain writers write the scenes for certain characters, then the credited writer edits it all. We’ve done both. When we get behind schedule, we break up scripts to help speed up the process and not slow down production. In the case of “Crash,” we have separate storylines and certain writers will tackle one character in a specific episode. Ultimately, the credited writer will always get to do their rewrite on the material. It’s actually worked out really well this year. 

With character development, we start with the basics. What they do for a living? Are they married? Divorced? Once we have the basic foundation in place, the hard work begins. Why do you want to watch this character? What makes them interesting? What makes them surprising? Why do we care?  

Once we’ve gotten the script written, our casting directors bring in a healthy batch of actors for each role and we scale it down to the final four or five favorites. Ira and executive producer James DeMonaco will then take a look at the best options based our casting director’s suggestions, and we pick who we want. After we’ve made our choice, it’s on to Lionsgate and Starz for final approval. 

A general comment about casting: It’s awkward as hell.Especially when you have some uncomfortable, weird subject matter, which “Crash” sometimes does. I have a lot of respect for actors--they’ve got guts. Speaking of which, I really dig what we’re doing with Dennis Hopper this year. I think there’s a lot of depth and emotion to his story. It’s a story of loss, which we’ve all seen before, but we tried to come at his character from a different angle. Hopefully it’s interesting. 

And I love the character of Bo. Just love him. He’s complicated, heartbreaking, dark, funny, weird. He’s just a great character. I think the audience will be mesmerized by Bo. Jake McLaughlin--he plays Bo--is the actor that has surprised me most this season. Wow, man, what a pleasant surprise. In the writers’ room in L.A., truth is we all have man crushes on the guy. That’s how talented he is. He makes it that much easier to write the character because we know no matter what we write, he’s going to knock it out of the park. 

All of our actors have a forte. Dennis Hopper--it’s his facial expressions. He doesn’t have to say a thing. The guy’s got a great face. If anyone can do it with a look, it’s Hopper. Jocko Sims--it’s his spirit. You’re rooting for the character because a lot of Jocko comes through in Anthony. He’s one of the nicest guys on the planet. Eric Roberts--it’s his presence. He’s a blast to watch and a damn good time to hang out with on set. He just has that thing about him. He’s had it his whole career. You just want to keep watching him. Ross McCall—he’s got charm. Period. He’s disgustingly charming. Moran Atias--her work ethic. She’s very focused.

I could go on about this, but I can’t because Ira’s giving me a hard time about finishing episode nine right now. Gotta run!