It was the question showrunner Damon Lindelof asked his “Watchmen” writers room early on in his journey to reinvent Alan Moore’s groundbreaking graphic novel for HBO. The answer to his question would become the basis of Episode 6 of “Watchmen,” “This Extraordinary Being,” one of the most formally bold 60 minutes of television ever made — and the subject of IndieWire’s first ever Deep Dive podcast. Deep Dive is a podcast and video series where IndieWire takes a detailed look on an exceptional piece of filmmaking. For our inaugural series, we partnered with HBO and interviewed Lindelof and 10 members of his creative team to take us behind the scenes of the creation of “This Extraordinary Being.” “For an episode like this to work,” Lindelof told IndieWire, “you need so many brilliant minds coming together and at any one time different people are taking the reigns and steering the carriage.”
To understand the brilliance of the episode, you need to understand its craft story and how the themes of generational trauma were translated into director Stephen Williams’ black and white, long take dreamscape that brings Reeves’ nightmare of racial injustice to haunting life. In the podcast below, the “Watchmen” team takes us from co-writer Cord Jefferson’s original pitch of how Will Reeves, a young Black cop in 1938 Harlem, became the superhero Hooded Justice, including interviews with composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and director Williams.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts to the Deep Dive Podcast Throughout this week IndieWire will be sharing video essays featuring Lindelof and his Emmy-nominated camera, writing, directing, sound, editing, and music team as they breakdown key moments from this extraordinary episode. “Deep Dive” is a recurring series of in-depth and informed discussions with the stars and creative team behind important film and TV projects. This week, it focuses on HBO’s “Watchmen,” Damon Lindelof’s Emmy-nominated adaptation of the graphic novel. The podcast is presented by HBO, hosted by IndieWire’s Deputy Editor, Film and TV Craft Chris O’Falt, and produced by IndieWire’s Creative Producer Leonardo Adrian Garcia. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
