Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions by Ed Zwick

Author:Ed Zwick [Zwick, Ed]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2024-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

Given the shooting demands of a one-hour show, no one had ever dared cast someone as young as her in a lead role. One of the reasons, we realized, was that California has appropriately strict child labor laws governing the number of hours a minor can work during a day and how much time must be spent in school. Nonetheless, we felt we had no choice; that’s how much we wanted Claire.

To make it work obliged us to reconceive the show, and like many such compromises in a TV series, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Winnie was able to endow the supporting characters—Angela’s friends and parents—with substantial subplots. Angela’s love interest Jordan Catalano (the sublime and inscrutable Jared Leto, actually twenty-one at the time), developed an unexpected camaraderie with Angela’s neighbor and wannabe boyfriend, the geeky, lovable Brian Krakow; meanwhile, Angela’s new best friend, Rayanne, and her former best friend, Sharon, forged a relationship of their own; while in the background, the trouble in Angela’s parents’ marriage cast an unexpectedly dark shadow over Angela’s world.

When we read Winnie’s description of Ricky Vasquez—a gay fifteen-year-old Puerto Rican—we couldn’t imagine finding him. And then Wilson Cruz walked into our office. It wasn’t just Wilson’s gifts as an actor that so brightened the ensemble, it was his charisma. As Winnie came to know him well, she realized the circumstances of Wilson’s personal life were not just a living mirror to the storyline she’d imagined—he was indeed the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay character in a leading television role—but also a source for an even deeper exploration of a kid in a tough situation at home.

Given the impact the show has had over the years it’s hard to believe we only made nineteen episodes. Our collaboration with Winnie was intense and just as intensely gratifying. Although we worked closely with her on the stories, only writing and directing occasionally, Winnie’s was the true voice of the show. Scott Winant, our co-executive producer, not only directed the pilot but gave the show its unique visual language. There was only one additional writer who made a substantial contribution: Jason Katims. Jason was a struggling playwright in New York when I first read his work at the Louisville One-Act Festival. We brought him to L.A. for his maiden job in TV, and though Winnie would have liked to write every word, Jason’s talent was undeniable and he contributed to several scripts. It was to be the first of our many happy collaborations together—not to mention Jason’s illustrious career on his own with Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, and many other shows.

Despite rave reviews, Emmy nominations for writing, directing, and best actress for Claire, never has a show been so tortured by a network’s lack of confidence: six episodes one year, six the following season, seven more after a long hiatus. It was the death of a thousand cuts. Despite the executives’ admission of how much the show meant to their

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