From Italy’s ‘Ripley’ to Iceland’s ‘True Detective’: The Crucial Role of Locations in Top Emmy Contenders

The race in on. Voting has just begun among the Television Academy members, leading to the crowning of the year’s best TV productions in mid-September. Among all the lead and supporting actors contending for Emmys in various categories, there are some silent participants: the locations. Variety’s reporter Michael Schneider, who has been covering the television business for a quarter of a century, considers that in today’s peak TV era, the locations featured in shows are often so vividly realized that they practically upstage the human stars. It’s an increasingly pronounced trend: backgrounds are taking center stage. This year’s Emmy contenders provide prime examples of how evocative settings can elevate storytelling. 

In AMC’s gritty crime drama Parish, Giancarlo Esposito’s ruthless portrayal is amplified by the rich, textured atmosphere of New Orleans. The show immerses viewers in The Big Easy’s singular culture through its vibrant visuals. The desolate, chilling remoteness of Iceland lends an air of stark isolation to HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, with Jodie Foster’s character investigating a grueling murder. The island nation’s landscapes, infinite, empty, and inhospitable, also serve as a backdrop for FX’s A Murder at the End of the World. Even familiar locales feel freshly captivating, like the lived-in authenticity of Chicago captured in The Bear’s second season, which offered a gastronomic tour of the city’s buzziest restaurants.

But perhaps no 2023 series provides a more sumptuous, immersive setting than Netflix’s Ripley. Bringing the 1960s Italy to life in meticulous black and white, the show is a sensory delight that leave viewers longing to book a flight. According to production designer David Gropman, the series benefited from fortunate timing. While scouting locations in early 2021 during COVID lockdowns, Italy’s quiet streets and empty piazzas allowed him to envision the 1960s setting with minimal modern intrusions.

“We were living in the Italy of 1960 in 2021 because of COVID,” Gropman explained. “We got to see everything without a single tourist. And without a lot of Italians.” This has turned Capri, Rome, Palermo, and Venice into mysterious and elusive characters, serving as a counterpoint to the enigmatic protagonist of the mini-series based on the novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/awards/ripley-italy-true-detective-iceland-locations-emmy-contenders-1236039996/#recipient_hashed=93626da1f9bb7e044599669100d02abb0831d25c78e7c1f99705765d95dd41f8&recipient_salt=f21b68d2cf713c942d5731bbcb01385e4ddcb23f0f4e982e1e92cc2eb61fd92b