An Interview with ‘Hightown’ Executive Producer Gary Lennon

Gary Lennon is a decorated television producer and writer, and he currently serves as an Executive Producer on Power and Hightown on STARZ, and we were lucky enough to spend some time with Gary to learn more about the creation of Hightown.

John Betancourt: How did you get involved with Hightown?

Gary Lennon: Basically, an executive at STARZ had read the script and thought that I would like it because he knows my taste. And he knows that I vacation in Provincetown, I'm also sober. I think he knows that I like trying to uplift characters that usually don't get to see themselves on screen. I think he knew that I would respond to a Latin-X lesbian character who was in recovery. And so, he sent me the script, and asked me if I would want to get involved. And I read it. I said, “Yes,” they set up the meeting with Rebecca, and with Bruckheimer TV, and we all sort of had a very similar idea of where we thought the show could go. And that's how I got involved.

John Betancourt: What did you do to flesh out a lot of the elements you just discussed?

Gary Lennon: Basically, what happened is after STARZ decided to buy it, they wanted to know what the second episode was. So, Rebecca, and I basically sat in a room and just talked about what that second episode would be. And then after that, you know, because Rebecca, and I got story credit on that second episode, STARZ was happy enough to order a writer’s room. And then we got into a writer’s room and decided, with another group of writers of what that season would be, and then we broke the season out, and then we pitched it to STARZ, and they were happy. And then they ordered us to series, which is what every writer dreams.

John Betancourt: Now, I would assume season two was assembled during the time of COVID. What kind of challenges and logistical issues, did you all run into, putting together a season two during this very interesting time in the world?

Gary Lennon: It was really difficult. And honestly, I have to give it up to a lot of other people who did their job way better than I would. There's a woman named Ellen Schwartz, who's an executive producer on the show who was on the ground with boots on ground. And you know, she made sure all the protocols were seen to, and there's a woman named KristieAnne Reed and a man named Jonathan Littman who runs Jerry Bruckheimer TV, who you know, crossed all the T's dotted every I, and they were super involved in making sure that our cast and crew would be safe. And honestly, those people are our heroes. They're the ones who deserve the medals and all that because they got it done. And our crew, of course, and our actors, the idea that they would show up under very uncertain times, putting themselves at risk. And, you know, it was our job to make sure that they felt safe because an actor needs to feel safe in order to give us their best. And honestly, I'd have to say that Ellen, and KristieAnne  and Jonathan and Rebecca really did that and made a safe environment so we could have a second season.

John Betancourt: I couldn't help but notice, that the series is very anti-drugs. And that's a good thing. I'm curious, what went into the decision to make this show such a focus on the dangers and the horrors of addiction and drugs?

Gary Lennon: You know, I think it all starts with Rebecca. And Rebecca’s pilot, because, you know, Rebecca wrote the script without any of us being involved. And so that was her brainchild, her desire her ideas, I know that Rebecca has really strong feelings about addiction, about recovery and about redemption. And I think that was one of the reasons I wanted to get involved with the show myself, I'm sober for a long time. And Rebecca and I and a lot of people that we work with have lost people to addiction. And it was important that we portray that, and there was a lot of people in the writer’s room who were sober and addicts themselves. It was important to all of us just to portray addiction and recovery in a very truthful and honest way. And so, I would say it came from a real personal place for all of us, but mostly for Rebecca, who created the show.

John Betancourt: Now what would you say, you’re most proud of when it comes to this series?

Gary Lennon: I'm really proud that we have a lead, who is a Latin-X lesbian, who is quite obviously queer. And that's just part of her story. But it's not her whole story. So, we're not writing about someone coming out. It's just a part of her story. And I think that the more that we can do that with queer stories, that would be great. Because, um, you know, it's just part of your life, it doesn't define exactly who you are, it's just a part of who you are.

John Betancourt: That makes total sense. And speaking of that, the characters are incredibly rich and incredibly realistic here. What went into the decision to make them so incredibly human? Which you don't sometimes see on TV.
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Gary Lennon: Yeah, well, thank you for that, you know, again, it starts that starts with Rebecca, writing that script before any of us came to the table with her. But then, you know, all of us have really just have the desire to write characters that live truthfully, under imaginary circumstances. And I think, you know, we want – I know that I when I'm watching TV – I want real situations with real dilemmas, and I want to see people make mistakes, and I want to see them correct those mistakes. I find it very interesting, the theme of, you know, are you defined by your biggest mistake? And the answer for that question is different for everybody. And so, I would say, all of us, you know, I mean, we go around the room, like a draft will come in, or an outline or an idea would be passing me. And you'd have an opposing idea. Someone would say, “oh, that doesn't feel honest and that doesn't feel real.” And we would debate on many things until the room felt that we had hit the truth. And then it was our job to put the truth on the page. And then it's the director's job to photograph that truth. But I would say our jobs as writers and executive producers – and by the way, the scripts go through many reads by many different people to say, “Oh, this seems fake, or this seems false.” And then it's our job to sit with that and make it real.
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John Betancourt: Speaking of realism and because you mentioned this, how much influence did your experiences in Provincetown have upon the show?

Gary Lennon: A lot. You know, Rebecca has been going there since she's a kid. I've been going there since 1982. And you can't help but tell stories that happen to you, and scenes that you saw, or interesting characters that you met, and then we try to put them on the page. So, I'd say this authenticity exists because we're not tourists in that world. We were natives.

John Betancourt: So, my last question today is, what are you most looking forward to audiences experiencing this season? Without spoiling, of course.

Gary Lennon: That's a great question. I’m looking forward to the audience's reaction to the unlikely alliances to develop over the course of this season. I think we put people together who you wouldn't expect. So, we have endings of storylines that are unexpected and surprising.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

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