The first episode of “Hightown”—Starz TV’s gritty crime drama series set in Provincetown with a hard-living lesbian federal fisheries agent hero—has just been released.
Will the series do P’town proud, or just maybe provide some welcome glimpses of favorite places and familiar faces?
Here’s the scoop from Boston magazine, where you can also check out a trailer:
Hightown centers on Jackie (played by Monica Raymund), a hard-partying fisheries agent who really, really likes her booze, her ladies, and dropping her “r” consonants to remind you, lest there be any remaining doubt, that she is from Massachusetts, kehd. Jackie discovers a dead body on the beach in Provincetown, and her investigation pulls her into a seedy underbelly of Outer Cape crime and drugs. High tension and subplots ensue. …
Admittedly, a gritty-sounding scripted drama is not exactly a replacement for reveling in the bright and happy side of Provincetown, but let’s be honest: We Bay Staters love any opportunity to shout and point out Places We Know when watching Hollywood’s takes on our various local treasures. (How many times have you heard someone squeal, “that’s right around the corner from my old apartment” when watching Ted or The Departed?)
Of course, with only one episode under its belt, it’s too early to tell where Hightown will ultimately rank in the pantheon of Massachusetts-made mass entertainment. Will it give Provincetown a chance to shine in the gilded halls of prestige TV? Will it wind up feeling like an icky-weird exploitation of the Cape’s opioid epidemic? Will there be cameos from P-Town’s most notable summer residents, like Miss Ritchfield or John Waters? (Did I ever tell you I once saw John Waters riding a unicycle down Commercial Street? ‘Cause I once saw John Waters riding a unicycle down Commercial Street.)
All this remains to be seen. But Hightown is at least largely informed by a local’s perspective: It’s the creation of executive producer Rebecca Cutter, who grew up in Cambridge. So our hopes remain, well, high—for now. Just don’t let us down, Starz, or you’ll never get a planter’s punch in P-Town again.
Head here to check out the premiere episode of Hightown on Starz.
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
