Buenos Aires in summer might not seem like the best time to make a show there.
Portenos, as residents of the city are called, generally head out of town if they can, either to Patagonia, or other country homes, or to invade the beaches of neighboring Uruguay.
So the city feels empty. Which was, in fact, just right for us.
There is already, to my mind, a mournful quality to Buenos Aires, a gorgeous background track of melancholy. You see it in the architecture. You hear it in the tango music. You feel it in the air.
There’s a bittersweet aspect that I find singular and enchanting – and the city’s empty streets and slowed-down pace during its summer months are, to me, perfect.
Using Wong Kar-Wai’s beautifully shot film “Happy Together” as inspiration, we set off to make a really, really good-looking, well-crafted episode that captures a mood, a feeling – and, of course, a place.
One odd and endearing feature of Argentina is how common it is to see a psychologist or psychiatrist.
It seems nearly everyone’s got one. So I saw one too. So welcome to the dark crannies of my skull.
We use an extended therapy session as a narrative device so you will end up knowing much more about me than you ever cared to, believe me. I apologize in advance.
Did we “get” BA? I don’t know.
Whether we succeeded or not I leave to you, dear viewers. But I know this is one incredible-looking show with a painstakingly crafted look to it that I’m really proud of.
This article was originally published in June 2016.
