An Interview with Charles Murray, Showrunner of ‘Outer Range’

Key Art for Season 2 of ‘Outer Range’ Courtesy of Prime Video.

Charles Murray is an accomplished writer and producer, who has worked on some incredible productions, such as Luke Cage. Currently, he serves as the Showrunner of Outer Range on Prime Video. And we here at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with Charles to discuss the highly anticipated second season of this series.
 
John Betancourt: This is a really ambitious season of storytelling. I mean, I am in awe of how much stuff was accomplished in it. I'm very curious as a showrunner, what went into the decision to create such an ambitious season?
 
Charles Murray: We felt like we had to kind of cover season one. And then project forward. Right. And so, when you're doing this kind of serialized storytelling, you know, I am a student of (Steven) Bochco and (David) Milch. And those guys packed every episode, so it was just instinctive for me to go,” how much can we put to an episode without getting confused? And how much can we put in an episode without fatiguing people?” And so, in that regard, it was like, I kind of wanted to get an audience to a place where they stand up to go to the kitchen, but they can't really. (Laughter) You know what I mean? It's like, “Wait, just pause it. No!” You know? And once that conversation happens, I feel like we got ‘em.
 
John Betancourt: I'm also curious as to what kind of what message specifically, you kind of hope that the audience pulls away from this particular season.
 
Charles Murray. The truth hurts, but sometimes you can't get around it. You know. And especially if you've been keeping it from people for a long time, you can't expect to be absolved, for finally telling it when you can't do anything else.
 
John Betancourt: What are you most excited for audiences to experience in season two, period?
 
Charles Murray: I'm really excited for them to experience the show, because I feel like… it's a roller coaster. And at the same time, when the roller coaster comes to an end, hopefully you want to get back and take another ride.
 
John Betancourt: What are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this show?
 
Charles Murray: I'm proud of the fact that as the kid of two steel workers in Gary, Indiana, I get to do what I told them I wanted to do when I was nine years old. You know, and this is just a part of, my story, is telling stories and you know, and I get to work with people who are absolutely amazing at their craft, and we get to build something that will be here long after I'm gone. And, you know, it's when… there are times when what we do… your side, my side, all of the sides. We forget about all of the people who wish they could do what we're doing and don't get to do it. And so, when I think about the work that I do, I'm always thinking about when I was that person who was on the outside, and how I get to do this and hopefully inspire other people to do. So that's, that's kind of my takeaway in a bigger sense. You know, the show. Yeah, watch the show. I hope you love this show. It's great. You know, but at the same time, you know, you have to think inside and outside as a writer, as a showrunner. And so, I think a lot of times, we forget, we are the inspiration of people who come to do this next. And so, I hope to continue to inspire folks to do it next.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.​

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