ATHLEISURE MAG #97 JAN ISSUE | ONE LAST RIDE Rebecca Cutter, Dohn Norwood, Atkins Estimond

We've enjoyed seeing everything that has gone down in Provincetown, MA in STARZ's Hightown! With the 3rd and final season premiering on Jan 26th, we get to see how the story wraps up with our favorite characters whether they're fighting crime and giving voices to victims or bulding their criminal entrprises. The complicated lines of the characters and the way that lines get crossed is a big draw in watching this show.

We had the chance to sit down with Rebecca Cutter (The Mentalist , Gotham, Code Black), Creator, Executive Producer, Showrunner and Writer of the show. We also talked with Dohn Norwood (Hell on Wheels, The Sinner, Mindhunter) and Atkins Estimond (Lodge 49, Inside Man, Swarm) to talk about what they love about this show, their characters, and more. There are light spoilers of the 3rd season. So if you have yet to watch the previous seasons or have not watched the 3rd season, you may want to watch prior to reading our conversation about the final season of Hightown.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’re such fans of your work as we enjoyed Gotham and Code Black. What kind of stories are you drawn to telling?

REBECCA CUTTER: I think that I am always drawn to crime dramas because I sort of love the structure and the kind of engine that it gives and always with really character driven stories. To me, just plot or just action is very boring unless you care about the people in it and why they are doing the things that they are doing. In Hightown, no one is just doing their job. They are always fulfilling something in them. So hopefully, it makes it interesting.

AM: When we had the chance to screen the final season, it was such a treat to see how everything has come together. What were you hoping to accomplish in this season?

RC: I think that I thought that it was important to look at what the inevitable end

was to these characters? What do they deserve? What is their endgame? What is their final form? So it was kind of working backwards from their final form and then seeing how they got there.

AM: Where did you get the inspiration for Season 3? The characters are amazing as you’re drawn to their intricacies.

RC: You know, I had so many stories to tell and knowing that it was the end, I was like, “great, I get to leave it all on the table.” There was the story of the missing woman is something that I have been playing with in my head for a long time in other projects where I tried to write a feature about that.

There has been a lot of things that I was excited to do and knowing that this was the final season, now was the time!

AM: What do you want fans of the show to walk away with after watching the finale?

RC: I think that I want them to feel and to get the sense that everybody has reached their final form and that whether you hate or love them, that that was the place for them to end! I hope that they got to feel that they watched a great crime drama with a lot of twists and turns.

AM: How many episodes total will be in this final season as I know the screeners we have access to have 6 episodes?

RC: 7.

AM: Oh great! Because when the 6th episode ended, I was like, “wait, there has to be more – we can’t end with this!”

RC: Yup!

AM: What is your favorite moment from this series?

RC: From the whole series?

AM: Sure!

RC: Oh my gosh! I could not pick one, and one moment is from the finale!

AM: Whichever you want to choose!

RC: I will say that I directed the finale and there are a ton of great moments. I don’t know, I just loved the whole pilot because we shot in Provincetown and we recreated a whole Pride parade and It was before COVID, so we had this huge crowd and Jackie (Monica Raymund) finding the body on the flats was the exact vision that I had in my head so that was pretty special to see. Because I grew up going to that place. So to see exactly what I imagined on the screen was very special.

AM: Are there any upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out for that you’ll be involved in?

RC: Oh yes! Well I am going to have another show on STARZ network called The Hunting Wives and we start shooting that in March. I’m super excited about that!

AM: Well we can’t wait to see that show as we know people loved the book and I know that Malin Åkerman (Billions, Soulmates, Dollface) is starring in it, which will be amazing! And our team can’t wait to see the final episode as there are so many questions and we appreciate you creating such an amazing show over these past 3 seasons!

@rebecca_p_cutter @starz @hightown

We always enjoy hearing why those who create a show want to present a designated story and how they hope that viewers will have various takeaways. But we also wanted to talk to those who played key characters so that they can share their insight!

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s a pleasure to talk with both of you, Dohn and Atkins, as I have been a fan of your work outside of

this show and obviously in this one too.

ATKINS ESTIMOND: Thank you!

DOHN NORWOOD: Thank you!

AM: What drew you guys to want to do this show?

DN: Employment ha!

AM: Ha ha that’s always good!

DN: Right? It’s always good! Aside from that, there’s great writing and it’s always good to be part of shows where you’re not having to justify a lot of your lines and things like that. There’s fully developed characters that are grounded and based in real things and it’s what I feel that most actors feel like they’re looking most forward to in their characters and the types of roles that they’re going to do.

AE: All of what Dohn said! Yeah I mean, it’s a great story. The crime genre is not new, but this is definitely a fresh take on it and that was exciting and also, when I saw the people that were attached, I was like, absolutely! That was a greenlight all the way!

AM: Exactly!

Where do we leave your characters in Season 2 and where are we picking them up again in this final season?

DN: I think that they did a good job of seeing us just a little further along but not majorly. That way we can piggy back on what was there before, but not right on top of what we just did. The audience, whether it’s a new one jumping in or the old audience that is very interested in seeing what happened next, it’s still tantalizing and just enough intrigue to go and see what’s happening and for the questions that are posed to be filled in on the following episodes.

AM: I really enjoy the dynamic that both

of you guys have especially when you’re in the same scenes together. How do you both go about preparing to play these characters?

AE: Well you know, it’s easy when you have someone as talented as Dohn to work with! But yeah, I feel that we find ourselves in interesting moments and obviously we’re on different sides of the law and there are so many points for our character where we differ and I think that it creates very interesting moments. The set up is so easy that when you get in there, it’s very easy to make those moments really cook because all of the points are already there. You can just walk this thing in on its own.

AM: You know what I also loved is that after watching the screeners we had access to, your characters particularly have vulnerabilities that you guys are showing that maybe we haven’t really seen in the previous seasons. Also, mentorship is an interesting theme and you both show it in different ways which is really interesting to see. It was one of the favorite things that I liked seeing from both of you in this final season.

What were your favorite moments in playing this show whether it was in an early season or in this one?

DN: Mmm that’s a good question.

AE: Yeah it is.

AM: We’re in the hard stuff now!

DN: There’s things that build up and accumulate and we’ve been waiting for the bubble to pop and I can’t give away too much, but it's some things that really got aggressive in this season and it’s good to see and feel and to get to that place with my character. His other facets and dynamics on who he is and how he deals with things. What lines he’s willing to or not willing to cross and how that is changing for him and how it is for everyone else!

AE: Yeah! Osito has had some moments to be vulnerable, to be weak, and that has been something that I have really enjoyed. A lot of times when we see someone who is bad or a bad guy, it’s just that they’re bad and always bad no matter how many times we come across them – that’s what happening! But with him, there are so many other things happening and you’re seeing so many sides of him and I have been able to do so many cool things with this character that I didn’t know that I would be able to do as an actor. I have had countless moments where I thought, this is so awesome!

AM: There have been a number of times where I go back and forth with your character where we know he does bad things, but he is also a nice guy.

AE: I know right?

AM: Now that this is coming to a close, is there anything that we should keep an eye out for that you guys are working on that you’re able to share?

DN: Contractually can’t say as where we are at this point, I can’t share because someone would email me at this point – so don’t say nothing haha!

AE: I have a project that is coming out on Netflix, A Man in Full which is an adaptation of a Tom Wolfe book. I’m not sure when it’s coming out, but it should be at some point!

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | STARZ/Hightown