Lady In The Lake Director and Cast Talk Genre-Bending and Race In Period Pieces
Laura Lippman’s Lady In The Lake is going from page to screen in Apple TV+’s newest series. The limited series is seven hours of pure emotion and suspense, growing more intense with each episode. Set in 1960s Baltimore, the story follows two women, Cleo and Maddie, whose lives are in constant crossover. It’s clear that one of their stories can’t be told without the other, and the world around them is consumed by their overlapping narratives. Pop Culture Planets Makkedah Ramsey caught up with director Alma Har’el to hear more about her plan for the series and with cast members Byron Bowers, Josiah Cross, and Y’lan Noel to discuss what it was like being a part of this series.
Alma Har’el serves as executive producer, co-writer, and director for Lady In The Lake, a role that allows her creative vision to take charge, though it’s a significant task given the powerful subjects of womanhood and racism the series touches on. “I wanted that challenge,” said Har’el. “Sometimes the only way to get things to work in a certain way is to understand all levels of the process.” Har’el emphasizes her clear vision as an artist, focusing on the details and having a say at every level helped bring the world together more cohesively. She acknowledges the support of her team, which gave her the confidence to juggle multiple roles. “I’ve never worked with so many people, but now, looking back, I think all that work has come together into something incredibly bigger than I could have ever imagined.”
Speaking of Har'el’s vision, she is known for being quite the genre slayer. This has allowed her to tap into different worlds within one story, deviating from real-world expectations and even the plot to push herself to follow her instincts. “I think it just naturally morphs into something that is later labeled as genre-bending or fresh or a new chapter of something, but it really comes from following my instincts on how to tell a story,” she said. This speaks to her natural talent for storytelling.
It is not easy to constantly find new angles in storytelling, but Har’el achieves this with Lady In The Lake. She was immediately intrigued by Lippman’s story but found herself craving a narrative that encapsulated Cleo’s journey. Har’el believed that “the story of Chloe, how she died, and what happened to her could really benefit from, and had a lot of opportunity to expand into a seven-hour series, allowing more time and depth.” This approach elevates Har’el’s storytelling, providing audiences with a series rich in layers and perspective. As she said, the series is “character-driven,” which enhances how it communicates its themes.
When catching up with Byron Bowers, Josiah Cross, and Y’lan Noel, I learned more about their experiences being part of this storytelling, especially as men of color in a period piece that focuses heavily on race and gender. “You know what was dope? It wasn’t a slave film,” Byron Bowers said. “It was a time where Black people elevated. You see the different hierarchies in this community and you see family and you see three men at different stages of their life and how they deal with love.”
The story allows these actors to explore their history from the perspective of their characters and see the power in their roles. “What I like most about the character that I played is that he’s a good cop,” Y’lan Noel shared. His own experiences with cops have been mixed, but stepping into this role, he was proud of who his character was at work. “Symbolically and spiritually, it was like, ‘Be the change you wish to see.’ While playing him, I got to see being a cop through the lens and understand a little bit of what they have to experience with the added layer of it being the '60s.”
The first two episodes of Lady in the Lake are streaming now on Apple TV+, with new episodes every Friday.
