Hightown (TV series)


Hightown is an American crime drama television series that premiered on Starz on May 17, 2020. The series is created by Rebecca Cutter and executive produced by Cutter, Gary Lennon, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, and KristieAnne Reed and stars Monica Raymund and James Badge Dale.
In June 2020, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

Jackie Quiñones is a National Marine Fisheries Service Agent in Provincetown, Massachusetts who abuses alcohol and drugs. She finds the body of a murdered woman, which launches an investigation by Detectives Alan Saintille and Ray Abruzzo into Cape Cod organized crime and the local opioid epidemic.

Cast and characters

Main

Production

Development

By November 27, 2017, Starz had put the production, then titled P-Town, into development. The series was created by Rebecca Cutter, with Gary Lennon as showrunner and both serving executive producers alongside Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, and KristieAnne Reed. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Jerry Bruckheimer Television. By November 26, 2018, Starz had given the production, now titled Hightown, a series order. On February 5, 2019, it was announced that Rachel Morrison would serve as director for the series. On June 11, 2020, Starz renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

On September 14, 2018, Monica Raymund had been cast in a leading role in the pilot. On January 9, 2019, James Badge Dale and Riley Voelkel had joined the main cast. In February 2019, Shane Harper, Atkins Estimond, Amaury Nolasco, and Dohn Norwood had been cast in the series.

Filming

Principal photography for the series was scheduled to commence in March 2019. The Provincetown, Massachusetts, Select Board voted on April 29, 2019, to allow filming from May 20 to June 11 at locations including MacMillan Pier and the harbor, the West End rotary, and Provincetown Inn. Commercial Street between Standish and Ryder streets was scheduled to be closed for part of June 4 in order to recreate a Carnival parade scene.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 79% based on 19 reviews with an average rating of 6.07/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Monica Raymund's charms rise above any formulaic tendencies in Hightown highly entertaining first season. On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings