''Hightown'' is an American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series that premiered on

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

on May 17, 2020. The series is created by Rebecca Cutter and executive produced by Cutter,

Gary Lennon Gary Lennon is an American playwright, television writer and executive producer. He is currently a showrunner on ''Power'' and '' Hightown'', both for the Starz network, where he has an overall development deal. He is also an executive producer o ...

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television Film producer, producer. He has been active in the genres of Action film, action, Drama film, drama, Fantasy film, fantasy, and Science fiction film, science fi ...

Jonathan Littman Jonathan Littman (born 1962/1963) is an American producer who serves as president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television. Biography Littman was raised in West Orange, New Jersey, the son of Dr. Harold Littman and Annette Littman. He is a graduate of V ...

, and KristieAnne Reed and stars

Monica Raymund Monica Maria Raymund (born July 26, 1986) is an American actress, known for her roles as Maria "Ria" Torres in the Fox crime drama ''Lie to Me'' (2009–2011), Dana Lodge in the CBS legal drama ''The Good Wife'' (2011–2012), Gabriela Dawson in ...

and

James Badge Dale James Badge Dale (born May 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase Edmunds in '' 24'', Robert Leckie in '' The Pacific'', State Trooper Barrigan in Martin Scorsese's ''The Departed'', Luke Lewenden in '' The Grey'', Eric Sa ...

. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on October 17, 2021. In March 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.

Premise

Jackie Quiñones (

) is a

National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the stew ...

Agent in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

who

abuses Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

alcohol and drugs. She finds the body of a murdered woman, which launches an investigation by Detectives Alan Saintille (

Dohn Norwood Dohn Norwood is an American actor who has appeared in the television series ''Hell on Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pa ...

) and Ray Abruzzo (

) into

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

organized crime and the local

opioid epidemic The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse/abuse, and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs opiates/opioids since the 1990s. It includes the sign ...

Cast and characters

Main

as Jackie Quiñones, a National Marine Fisheries Service Agent in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who is a lesbian, and suffers from alcoholism and drug addiction *

Riley Voelkel Riley Emilia Voelkel (born April 26, 1990) is an American-born Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Freya Mikaelson on The CW television series '' The Originals'' and ''Legacies''. Voelkel also played the role of Jenna Johnson on the HBO ...

as Renee Segna, an exotic dancer at Xavier's Bar and Lounge and the fiancee of Frankie Cuevas Sr. *

Shane Harper Shane Steven Harper (born February 14, 1993) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He is known for playing Spencer on ''Good Luck Charlie'' as well as Josh Wheaton in the independent Christian film '' God's Not Dead''. His self-titled d ...

as Junior (season 1, guest season 2), a drug dealer and Jackie's friend * Atkins Estimond as Osito, Frankie Cuevas Sr.'s lieutenant *

Amaury Nolasco Amaury Nolasco Garrido (born December 24, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series '' Prison Break'', and for his role in ''Transformers''. Early life Nolasco was born ...

as Frankie Cuevas Sr., a drug kingpin who is in jail *

as Alan Saintille, a trooper with the

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state. As of 10/4/2022, it ...

assigned to the Cape Cod Interagency Narcotics Unit (CCINU) *

as Det. Ray Abruzzo, a

sergeant also assigned to the CCINU

Recurring

* Rumi C. Jean-Louis as Frankie Cuevas Jr., Renee and Frankie Cuevas Sr.'s son *

Mike Pniewski Michael Pniewski (born April 20, 1961) is an American actor and public speaker. Life and career Pniewski was born in Los Angeles, California. His education began at UCLA, where he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater and al ...

as Ed Murphy, Jackie's National Marine Fisheries Service partner * Crystal Lake Evans as Krista Collins *

Ana Nogueira Ana Nogueira is an Americans, American actress and playwright. She is known for her roles as Sarah on ''Sarah + Dee'', Penny Ares on ''The Vampire Diaries (TV series), The Vampire Diaries''. She originated the role of Eliza Hamilton in the ori ...

as Donna, Junior's on-and-off girlfriend who has a baby daughter together * Edmund Donovan as Kizzle *

Gia Crovatin Gia Alessandra Crovatin is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her film roles as Dylan in the 2015 comedy film '' Dirty Weekend'' and Sasha in the comedy film '' I Feel Pretty''. Her television roles include Drew in the comedy ...

as Devonne Wilson, Jackie's ex-girlfriend * Masha King as Sherry Henry *

Michael Mulheren Michael Mulheren is an American actor from Middletown, New Jersey.Van Benthuysen, Gretchen C"Local actor lands part in Broadway’s ‘Spider-Man’"''Culture Klatch''. Aug 20 10. Best known for ''Law & Order'', '' Rescue Me'', and ''Royal Pain ...

as Lt. Velekee, Ray's boss *

Joy Suprano Joy Suprano is an American actress best known for her lead role in the Apple+ show ''Best Foot Forward'' as well as her role in Hulu's '' Fleishman Is in Trouble''. Early life and education Suprano was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ...

as Patricia *Tonya Glanz as Trooper Leslie Babcock, Ray's old Massachusetts State Police partner whom he had an affair with and Jackie's Massachusetts State Police partner *

Luis Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia'' (1999) an ...

as Jorge Cuevas (season 2) * Jona Xiao as Daisy (season 2) * Charline St. Charles as Henriette (season 2) * Dominic L. Santana as Chuleta (season 2) * Crystal Lee Brown as Janelle (season 2) * Cecil Blutcher as Vernon (season 2) * Carlos Gomez as Rafael (season 2), Jackie's father * Barbara Weetman as Callie (season 2), Renee's mother * Imani Lewis as Charmaine Grasa, niece of drug kingpin Wayne Grasa who takes over his empire after he goes to jail *

Garret Dillahunt Garret Lee Dillahunt (born November 24, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in television, including the roles Burt Chance on the Fox sitcom ''Raising Hope'', for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Aw ...

as Shane Frawley (season 3) * Jeanine Serralles as Rachel (season 3) * Kaya Rosenthal as Sarah (season 3) *

Michael Drayer Michael Drayer (born March 19, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Cisco on the television drama–thriller series ''Mr. Robot'', Gabe on the television drama series '' Deception'', and for his supporting role a ...

as Owen Frawley (season 3) * Ellie Barone as Veronica (season 3) * Taja V. Simpson as Janelle (season 3)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2021)

Production

Development

By November 27, 2017,

had put the production, then titled ''P-Town'', into development. The series was created by Rebecca Cutter, with

as showrunner and both serving executive producers alongside

, and KristieAnne Reed. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of

Jerry Bruckheimer Television Jerry Bruckheimer Films Inc. (JBF) is an American independent film production company of Jerry Bruckheimer, formed in 1995, after cutting his ties with film producer Don Simpson, before his subsequent death in 1996. It produced hits such as ...

. By November 26, 2018, Starz had given the production, now titled ''Hightown'', a series order. On February 5, 2019, it was announced that

Rachel Morrison Rachel Morrison (born April 27, 1978) is an American cinematographer and director. For her work on '' Mudbound'' (2017), Morrison earned a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, making her the first woman ever nominated in that ...

would serve as director for the series. On June 11, 2020, Starz renewed the series for a second season. More recently, the creator signed a deal with

Lionsgate Television Lionsgate Television is the television division of Lionsgate, which is a Canadian–American entertainment company. History The company was established in July 1997 as Lions Gate Television, Inc. with the establishment of Lionsgate Films. It acq ...

. The second season premiered on October 17, 2021. On March 1, 2022, Starz renewed the series for a third season.

Casting

On September 14, 2018,

had been cast in a leading role in the pilot. On January 9, 2019,

and

had joined the main cast. In February 2019,

, Atkins Estimond,

, and

had been cast in the series in starring roles. On November 19, 2020,

was cast in a recurring role for the second season. On December 16, 2020, Crystal Lee Brown, Cecil Blutcher, Carlos Gomez, and Barbara Weetman joined the cast in recurring capacities for the second season. On June 15, 2022,

, Jeanine Serralles, Kaya Rosenthal,

, Ellie Barone, and Taja V. Simpson were cast in recurring roles for the third season.

Filming

Principal photography for the series was scheduled to commence in March 2019. The Provincetown, Massachusetts, Select Board voted on April 29, 2019, to allow filming from May 20 to June 11 at locations including MacMillan Pier and the harbor, the West End rotary, and Provincetown Inn. Commercial Street between Standish and Ryder streets was scheduled to be closed for part of June 4 in order to recreate a Carnival parade scene. Production for the second season began on November 19, 2020 and concluded on April 2, 2021. Starting in season two the show's production moved to

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series holds an approval rating of 80% based on 20 reviews with an average rating of 6.07/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Monica Raymund's charms rise above any formulaic tendencies in ''Hightown'' highly entertaining first season. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hightown (TV series) 2020s American crime drama television series 2020 American television series debuts 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series English-language television shows Lesbian-related television shows Starz original programming Television shows set in Massachusetts Television shows filmed in Massachusetts Television shows filmed in North Carolina Television shows filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina Television series about illegal drug trade