Fox’s ‘Past Life,’ shot in Atlanta and starring Cumming native Kelli Giddish, debuts Tuesday on Fox
February 8, 2010, by
On the surface, Fox’s latest drama “Past Life” resembles plenty of other crime procedurals.
Cumming native Kelli Giddish plays a psychologist ; Nicholas Bishop is a former cop. They're opposites. She's smart, a bit impulsive. He's a skeptic, haunted by his past. They solve crimes while throwing bon mots at each other. Toss in a bit of romantic tension that won't be addressed for a long time.
But there’s a twist: they work for an organization specializing in “past life regression.” People see visions from their past lives that can be used to decipher old crimes. With use of flashbacks, “Past Life” is like “Cold Case” with paranormal activity thrown in.
The show’s pilot, seen tonight (Tuesday, 2/9) at 9:01 p.m., was shot in Baltimore, but the next six episodes were produced here in metro Atlanta. “Past Life” uses parts of downtown Atlanta (especially the Fairlie-Poplar area) to sub in for New York City, where headquarters is based.
Is "Past Life" worth a look?
- Sounds cool! I'm going to check it out.
- I'm feeling deja vu about all this. Will skip.
"I was thrilled that we got such a variety of looks here in Atlanta.," said David Hudgins, executive producer whose most recent credit was "Friday Night Lights." "We did a big bank robbery in Decatur. We used a suburb for Texas. In the second episode, we shot in this cool old quarry for two days. That was fantastic.!"
Giddish, a 1998 graduate of Forsyth Central High School and former “All My Children” soap star, still has family here. “My mom came down to do my laundry on Friday nights,” she said. “My 87-year-old grandma got to visit the set. It was a treat to come home for Sunday dinner and to eat grits and bacon.”
The transition from soap-land to primetime has been jarring, she noted. “On soaps, you put 90 pages of script onto tape in one day. Here, you get three, maybe six pages done. Soaps taught me how to think on my feet and make quick decisions.”
Fox originally gave “Past Life” 13 episodes but cut it to seven, blaming a tight spring schedule. Hudgins wasn’t too perturbed. “We’ll know if there’ s an audience for this with seven episodes,” he said. “Basically, we turned the lights out and kept the sets, wardrobes and props in Atlanta. The talent is still under contract. We just have to wait and see if we get a second season.”
The show’s regular time slot of Thursdays at 9 p.m. is brutally competitive. It’s up against “Grey’s Anatomy,” “CSI,” and “The Office,” to name a few. But the usual time slot holder “Fringe” has survived there.
And Fox is debuting “Past Life” after “American Idol” Tuesday, which Hudgins said is a sign of confidence: “There’s no better platform to launch a new show. They’ve been behind us creatively all along.”
ON TV
“Past Life,” Fox, 9:01 p.m., Tuesday; regular time slot is Thursdays at 9 p.m.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
