The Best of Us starts filming in New York as seven join Jeremy Strong
Cameras are rolling in New York City on The Best of Us, and the Paramount+ drama has added seven actors to its cast.
Jeremy Strong leads the six-episode series as Jason Smith. Filming is now under way in New York, according to Deadline.
The new additions are Joe Morton, Richard Schiff, LaChanze, Elizabeth Rodriguez, William Baldwin, Jen Tullock and Keith W. Richards. All seven join as guest stars, meaning they take shorter-run roles alongside the central cast.
The producers are keeping details of those seven parts under wraps. No character names or storylines have been disclosed. That is common at the start of a shoot, when productions hold back detail to keep storylines under cover.
Strong plays a class-action lawyer, meaning a lawyer who brings a single case on behalf of a large group of people. His character, Jason Smith, sits at the centre of the legal fight. He is the through-line for the whole story.
The Best of Us is a limited series, meaning it is designed to tell one complete story across a set number of episodes. Here, that run is six episodes for Paramount+, the subscription streaming service.
It dramatises the campaign to secure almost $1 billion in compensation for first responders who became ill after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, according to Deadline. First responders is the term used for the emergency workers and others who rushed to help. The focus is the courtroom effort in the years afterwards rather than the day itself.
The scripts are by Tobias Lindholm and Frank Pugliese. The show is produced by Paramount Television Studios and Sister, the production companies behind the series. The writers shape the story and dialogue. The studios organise the shoot and carry it through to delivery.
Shooting in New York puts the production where the real events took place. It also means a large crew is now at work on location as the scenes are recorded. Sets are dressed. Costumes are fitted. Scenes are shot out of order and cut together later.
What makes this stand out for viewers is the shape of the cast. One lead carries the central case. A wider group of guest performers fills out the world around him. Each new name adds another strand to that courtroom story.
For anyone picking up the story now, the picture is simple. The lead is set. The supporting ensemble is set. The six-part story is in production, with cameras turning in New York.
