Exclusive: Director Jerry LaMothe On Co-Creating UMC’s ‘Terror Lake Drive’ Drama Series During Pandemic Crisis
Currently airing on UMC, the AMC Networks-backed streamer, is the six-episode thriller series Terror Lake Drive created by director Jerry LaMothe (Blackout) and Kajuana S. Marie (Data.Love.Repeat).
Starring Malik Yoba (Empire), Shannon Kane (The Originals), Donielle T. Hansley Jr. (Charm City Kings) and Lamman Rucker (Greenleaf), the limited series started on November 26 and will conclude on December 31.
Terror Lake Drive is a suspenseful drama that follows a single mother from Baltimore who – on the heels of a recent pandemic and growing social unrest – relocates to Atlanta in an attempt to dodge her troubled past. As she settles into her new surroundings, she soon discovers that there are some things she can never run away from.
For LaMothe, who has directed films such as Amour Infinity, Nora’s Hair Salon, Blackout, the TV film The Christmas Swap, and episodes of Bounce' TV’s Saints and Sinners, this was his first as a co-creator. The series was also the first to start production when the pandemic was its peak on the East coast. Suffice to say, he had more challenges than one can expect, but he prevailed and got the job.
In speaking exclusively with BlackFilmandTV.com as the series is concluding its possible first season, LaMothe reflect on how the series came to be.
How did this one come about?
Jerry LaMothe: Beautiful long story. Originally, the idea was pitched to me. There was a production company seeking thrillers with a female lead. They asked me if I had anything like that in my slate of films, which I didn't. This would be my first venture in the psychological, suspense, drama genre-especially with a female lead, so I teamed up with my partner Kajuana S. Marie. We started fleshing out and developing the storyline/characters. We sent them a pitch, but they were slow to move on it and eventually, things just fizzled out.
So then I presented it to a friend, colleague and executive by the name of Brett Dismuke, who at that point in time was a independent producer before he was appointed COO of UMC. He has since been promoted to GM of both UMC and WeTV under the AMC umbrella conglomerate. At the time, he wasn't with either company. I presented it to him because he has an extensive resume with producing suspense dramas, and I told him I had something that I think he'd be interested in. He sent it over to a network that he conducted a lot of business with. They expressed interest in wanting to do it.
We started moving forward on it, and it was initially set out to be a movie. At the 11th and a half hour, so called network decided not to do the project, just out of left field, and figured that they were either going to shelve it, or maybe circle back to it at some point in time. This was during the fall of 2019. Brett was then appointed and offered the position of COO of UMC, Robert Johnson's network which is now a part of AMC’s streaming service. They want to build and bring up quality content and do some original programming with the network. One of Brett’s first order of business was to make Terror Lake Drive as a potential series? He got back to me and asked me how did I feel about potentially doing Terror Lake Drive as a series as opposed to a movie? It would be six episodes and set it up as a limited series, which was a first for the network, first in this genre, and first limited series and, of course, I was more than happy to take that deal, and we moved on from them.
A year later, we started to go up, and was immediately shut down due to the COVID pandemic. We went back up a few months later, soon as the state of Georgia reopened up and we were the first production in US history to go up during the pandemic; the first union project greenlit to commence Principal Photograph when we went up June of this year. And so all the protocols and all the guidelines that have since been set forth, or based on the original trial efforts that was conducted during Principal Photography on Terror Lake Drive.
What is the premise of the story?
Jerry LaMothe: Many things won't be revealed until the ending, which was intentional. A lot of things are very vague, and audiences are definitely picking up various things and trying to sum up what exactly it is that they're witnessing or what's unfolding and what’s happening. I will definitely be looking forward to dropping down what my whole interpretation and the meaning behind the whole story was once the season finale is released, but in the interim, Terror Lake Drive is basically about a young Baltimore woman who relocates to Atlanta with her son in an effort to start a new fresh life. So the tagline is “Sometimes the past is right in front of you.”
What that deals with is basically a lesson on dealing with our past, dealing with all personal trauma, dealing with black trauma, and efforts to suppress them or overlook them, only heighten them and bring them more to the forefront. So until they're handled or dealt with, you can't move forward, no matter how hard you try to outrun it; no matter how hard you try to start a clean slate;, no matter how hard you try to be in denial and not face it head on. You can't move forward.
How did you get the cast together?
Jerry LaMothe: Casting was really interesting. My team and I basically set how to shoot a film, again, in the midst of a pandemic. Several of the actors that were originally attached had trepidation about shooting under the current climate and were unwilling to travel. They and their families had decided that they were going to sit things out, sit things out for a year even. And I get it, I understand that, and I respect them. But we were still nonetheless extremely fortunate to get an ensemble a very talented ensemble, for various reasons. As artists, people have a desire to exercise their muscles and their creative juices. With Lamman Rucker, Malik Yoba and Shannon Kane, it was one of those situations where the project resonated with them. They were drawn to it. I spoke with them and explained my interpretation and my director's vision for the project. The fact that we were, again, going to be the first and it's not easy to be the first of anything. It can be often very scary. It's very convenient to just to sit it out and wait and see how things play out with everyone else. For some, stay safe on the sidelines, which again, I understand. I completely respect that. But for a lot of people, the prospect of being the first beings to be part of the first production to go up in this country in 2020. That was an incentive for many people.
Many of us were willing to go out and take it because this is what we do for a living. This is the industry standard. And it was safe to say that this is going to be our new normal, at least for the next year or so. So unless someone was willing to sit out for the next year and a half the next two years, we understood that it was inevitable. Eventually, we had to put our bootstraps on and go out and learn and find out how are we going to be able to shoot productions moving forward in this current climate.
I think that was an incentive for a lot of people as well to take part in it. Some of the strict regulations we had to adhere to are no longer in effect. Being the first to go up, they were going through everything through a fine tooth comb. They were on set, making sure that everything was on point. We were fortunate enough that no one got sick during our production. We were required to test three times a week, everyone from cast and crew; which is still being implemented now with the same day result exam. Some of the other stipulations that are no longer in effect is we were required to be a casting crew of under 30. No more than 30 heads could work and with some of these major productions, that's just not realistic. But that's what being the first. It was either that or nothing, no more than 30 people.
We shot a six episode miniseries in 19 shooting days with under 30 heads in 90 degree weather in Atlanta; wearing masks in 14-15 hour days and being tested three times a week. It was grueling, to say the least, and very challenging. But we were able to get a phenomenal cast that stepped up and was willing to take that gamble and come on board. It's definitely one for the books. very memorable.
Because you're not airing all the storylines, have you been guaranteed a season two?
Jerry LaMothe: That's a great question. No, we haven’t, not as of yet. Because, again, this was already set out to be a limited series. It's to be determined whether or not there will be a season two. But I will say this, there's plenty of backstory to support the season two, and I'm very, very confident in trusting that the audience will want to see more upon the season finale. While the season finale is filling, and it definitely all comes to an explosive climax, there's a lot of backstory with the Jones family that we can further explore. I'm more than happy and ready to do that as the CO creator of this of this project.
At the end of the day, this is something especially for us and by us, referring to the black experienced and those of us from the black diaspora. This series will resonate with all of us for a number of reasons. The storyline parallels our current climate, what we're currently dealing and facing right now as a black community. As far as being underserved on a personal level, this story deals with black trauma. It deals with black mental illness, and it will serve as a strong reminder of just how resilient we are as black people and most importantly it will resonate with the audience on many multiple levels.