Pop-Culturalist.com

Andy Siara is the creative mastermind behind the must-see new series, The Resort.

The Resort is a multi-generational, coming-of-age love story disguised as a fast-paced mystery about the disappointment of time. An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when the couple finds themselves embroiled in one of the Yucatan’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries that took place fifteen years prior.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with creator Andy Siara about the inspiration behind the series and creating an environment on set where the actors could take agency over their characters.

PC: You’ve said in the past that you’ve always wanted to write a big summer project that had mystery, adventure, comedy, tragedy, and romance, and here we are. How did you initially come up with the concept for The Resort and where did you draw inspiration from?
Andy: I’d say it started a long time ago as a feature script. It didn’t really work, but it was a coming-of-age indie film with a version of the Sam (Skyler Gisondo) character who goes to a resort with his parents and strikes up a friendship with this older couple who are celebrating their anniversary. This older couple was a version of Emma (Cristin Milioti) and Noah (William Jackson Harper). The script didn’t work. I put it away. I would revisit it every year or so and look at it from where I was in my life at that point. Fast-forward seven years, the world has shifted drastically and my own personal life has shifted drastically. I started a family. I realized I was not only looking at the story that inspired that initial script but also the script itself through a nostalgic lens in a way, and I was trying to recapture something that couldn’t be recaptured—a feeling.

I split up those characters over these two timelines. You have Emma and Noah trying to solve this mystery of what happened to Sam and Violet (Nina Bloomgarden) while also trying to solve what happened to their relationship. That’s mixed in with all this mystery, comedy, romance, and coming-of-age stuff. It’s my thoughts on nostalgia and the true-crime industrial complex. Then I’m also thinking about what I want to see as an audience member. What are the things that I like? When I’m trying to escape the present, what do I go and watch? I’m watching Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Dante’s Peak, and Titanic. Those are movies from my youth that made me feel warm and fuzzy because I was trying to escape something. I like shows and movies that ride the line between silly and sincere and that have this element of spectacle too.

PC: This is such a diverse cast. As you were creating these characters, did you have these particular actors in mind? Many of them are known for the comedic and dramatic roles that they’ve brought to life on the screen. How did you create the space for them to improvise and take agency over their own characters?
Andy: When we met with everybody ahead of time it wasn’t a normal casting process where we were just watching callbacks. Ben Sinclair, the director, and I would meet with actors and talk about life and the characters. What I said in those conversations was, “I hope that by the time we start shooting this, you know these characters better than I do.” I looked at the script as a launching platform. Yes, we always do the scripted version, but sometimes Ben would have them do a silent take where they’re just exchanging looks and not saying any words. Then also what Ben is so good at is tossing out an idea and letting the actors riff off that after they’ve already got a running start.

It was really important to me that the characters never felt like they were saying something that they didn’t believe in either as the character or themselves. I would defer to their instincts a lot. That’s where I think the strength of the show is. We have such an insanely talented group of people that bring more experiences to these things than even I do. I look up to them in that sense.

Watch The Resort on Peacock today.