Peacock’s “Long Bright River” takes place in Philadelphia’s Kensington, a low-income neighborhood that has been devastated by the opioid epidemic. Homeless encampments often line Kensington Avenue, where run-down appliance resale stores, garbage bags and other urban detritus abound. “My vision was to honor the beauty and the sadness and decay that exist in Kensington,” production designer Amy Williams said. “And really just to capture the essence of this very specific area that epitomizes so many struggles that are happening right now in our country. So for me, it was most important to look through the lens of the reality of what’s happening there and try to find the beauty where it does exist.”
The limited series, starring Amanda Seyfried as a beat cop investigating the suspicious deaths of several homeless, drug-addicted women, was shot primarily in Brooklyn. Williams worked with Kensington graffiti artists to tag their outdoor locations, including a stretch in East New York near railroad tracks, where they set up homeless encampments that were perhaps a little too realistic. “People thought that these were real encampments and they were phoning law enforcement to come and check them out,” Williams said. “It was a big compliment that we got it right, but at the same time it speaks to the fears
and the struggle of the neighborhoods.”
“PAPI STORE” EXTERIOR & ST. FRANCIS MURAL
“In Kensington, the first time I was there, it was shocking,” Williams said. “You see people shooting up on the streets and you see these lost souls, but then you see these incredible works of art and murals.” One of them was the mural of St. Francis on the facade of a local community center and ministry, the St. Francis Inn. Williams and her team got permission to reproduce the mural and post it near one of the corner delis, or “papi stores” in Philly parlance, they used in Brooklyn. “I think we had maybe five versions because it was all done in wheatpaste style, and over the course of four months, those deteriorate. That mural just really stands out. It’s bright yellow. There’s something very warm and giving about it.”
KENSINGTON CONCEPT ART
One of Williams’ renderings of a Kensington alleyway captures the desolation that can be found there. “We brought a lot of trash and graffiti everywhere we went,” she said. “We brought in some Kensington graffiti artists and endless amounts, hundreds and hundreds, of tires and burned-out cars and other larger items that you would find discarded.” At the location near the railroad tracks, Williams’ team covered up the existing graffiti that was specific to Brooklyn and let the Kensington artists go to town. “It was vital that we get that right, because we were cheating it in New York. Timothy Curtis was our graffiti artist who brought in all of his friends,” Williams said. “They would drive up from Philadelphia, tag trucks and walls and insides of buildings and all of our sets. They were elated to be able to have these huge canvases that they could paint.”
INSIDE GEE POP’S KITSCHY HOME
Mickey’s grandfather, Gee Pop (John Doman), raised her and her sister, Kacey (Ashleigh Cummings), and is a big part of Mickey’s son’s (Callum Vinson) life. He is also a Mummer, or performer who dresses up and marches in the New Year’s Day parade. So to design Gee Pop’s home (built on a set in New York City), Williams dug into the history of Philly row houses and the century-old Mummer tradition, which is rooted in Irish and British folk culture. “Gee Pop’s world is the old-school, Irish element of the neighborhood,” she said. “There’s such a specific decor that feels so of a time and in a way very kitschy.” She incorporated dated elements like wood paneling and a drop ceiling, plus such idiosyncrasies as aneon Löwenbraü beer sign.
Local Mummers clubs donated costumes for Gee Pop’s collection of sequined outfits, which, when displayed in his living room, all but twinkle against the mostly brown decor. “I had never heard of Mummers before,” Williams said. “It’s so fascinating. It’s mostly men and they’ve got their big sewing rooms. There’s glitter and crafting everywhere. And I’m like, OK, these are my people. They could be in the art department. That was a really fun set for me to design.”
THE PHILLY MORGUE
As Mickey looks into the deaths, she visits her precinct’s morgue, which was filmed in a rarely used morgue in the basement of a retirement home on New York City’s Randall’s Island. For Williams, one of the appeals of this location was the beige-yellow cinder blocks that scream “municipal institution” and are similar to the ones in the police-precinct set they had built. “It’s a perfect location and has these great windows,” she said. “We basically just had to bring in gurneys and medical equipment and signage.”
This story first ran in the Limited Series/TV Movies issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the Race Begins issue here.
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