The Paley Center for Media hosted a premiere screening of FX’s The Bridge, followed by a lively panel conversation, on Tuesday, June 24 at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills which was live streamed for fans to watch online.
The Bridge FX Series Premieres on July 9th at 10pm
The Bridge is a crime thriller starring Diane Kruger, Demian Bichir, Matthew Lillard, Emily Rios, Thomas M. Wright and Ted Levine. When the body of a cartel member is found on US soil, Sonya Cross (Kruger) from El Paso PD and her Mexican counterpart, Marco Ruiz (Bichir), must work together to solve the case. Marco, still reeling from the death of his son, continues to deal with corrupt cops and the demands of the cartel. Sonya meets an unexpected man with connections to her past who threatens to come between her and her boss, Lieutenant Hank Wade (Levine). The case quickly pulls them all into a complex web of money laundering, police corruption, and the Juarez Drug War which infiltrates the suburban streets of El Paso.
El Paso Times reporters Daniel Frye (Lillard) and Adriana Mendez (Rios) continue to follow the Millie Quintana Money House, a path that will eventually cross that of Marco and Sonya. Charlotte Millwright (Annabeth Gish) will have to make the impossible choice between the two worlds that have a grasp on her: the US government and the Mexican cartel. Meanwhile, Steven Linder (Wright) tries to do right by his Mexican immigrant love and ends up seeking justice the only way he knows how.
Panel Discussion Recap
Season 1 of The Bridge is focused on capturing the serial killer David Tate, however, the end of the season did not exactly follow the complete storyline of Scandinavian crime drama “Broen,”from which it was developed from. The series Executive producer, Elwood Reid said that they followed that series’ “satisfying template” …“and it was my job not to mess it up.” But, he also added, “we had to create a new show. We had this untapped world between these two borders.”
“The great thing about serial killers is, people are going to follow you,” Reid said… “But I knew if we were going to survive into the second or third season, we were going to have to pull that life support.”
Notable Quotes from Cast Members from the Panel:
Demian Bichir: “What I loved of [Detective Marco Ruiz] from the beginning was that he wasn’t black or white,” said Bichir. “I love characters that have different layers of emotions. When I read the pilot I saw that there.”
Diane Kruger: whose plays Detective Sonya Cross and has Asperger syndrome, said it was a challenge for the other writers “to come up with storylines that show a different side of her… people tend to take the easy way out, but I fight for, ‘no, it’s okay to be awkward. It’s okay for not everyone to like her.’ I try to stay strong as a performer because I feel a huge responsibility to [the Asperger syndrome] community.”
Matthew Lillard: “I’m just happy to be here,” if you remember in the series, his character was on the chopping block to be killed off half way through the season but was kept alive because as Reid explained to the audience “because Matthew was so good I was like, ‘why am I going to get rid of this guy?’”
Lillard also said that the storytelling is greater when the network is willing to take risks. “FX allows all that to happen… They’ve perfected the slow burn… It takes courage to just say ‘yes’ and know people will find it.’”
Expert Consultants
Reid hired expert on border relations between the US and Mexico, “New York Times” foreign correspondent, Damien Cave, because he“takes these very complex ideas like immigration and the drug trade and he helps us shrink them down and make them dramatic.” Reid even brought in a casting director from Mexico who finds actors that are specific to the region to ensure an authentic sense of culture is portrayed.
Strong Characters
Plot lines are important but having strong characters are just as important, Reid told the audience. He said he saw the dynamic relationship between Frye and Emily Rios’ journalist character Adriana Mendez and thought it would be an extremely effective way to explore issues surrounding the US/Mexico border.
The Screening
The screening showed how the characters interacted after Tate and drew the audience in with a sense of wanting more… which as Reid said, it’s not about the destination so much as the journey.
“Everyone on this stage has a big journey this season,” Reid said. “The reason the surprises work so well is because you know the characters so well. It’ll be at a simmer the whole time and when you do light that match, the whole thing blows up.”
Check out this Sneak Peek Playlist for The Bridge, Season 2
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