Hart Hanson (TV creator: Bones / Backstrom / The Finder)

Welcome to 5AM StoryTalk! I'm joined by screenwriter and author HART HANSON, best known as the creator of “BONES” – a TV juggernaut that ran for 12 seasons. But he’s created multiple other series and had his name on almost 20 over the course of his 35-year career. He has two novels out, too, which you should check out. You can learn more about him and his work at his website, but you can also find links to what we discuss in our artist-on-artist conversation in the links list below.

In this conversation, we discuss (amongst so many other things):

·      How Hart broke into Hollywood by pissing off TV creator David E. Kelly on his very first job, which has led to a reputation of being the guy who will quit if he’s not happy with the state of a project

·     His uncertainty if he is an artist or a craftsman given the career he’s pursued, which leads to an interesting existential debate about art

·     His concern that aiming for commercial success often involves compromises that may dilute artistic purity, but also how youth and/or privilege often sets people on career paths where artistic integrity can be protected

·     The difficult, even combative development of “Bones”, but also how the series managed to creatively thrive for twelve seasons as a result (there’s a lot to learn from this part of the conversation)

·     The transformative effect a recent trip to Antarctica had on him

·      The understanding he’s trying to find when he tells any story

A bonus episode, exclusive to 5AM StoryTalk’s bad-ass paid subscribers, is also available. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, you’ll get more of Hart and I discussing a seminal piece of art from his life – the TV pilot episode of “Northern Exposure”.

Links:

·     5AM StoryTalk newsletter (become a paid subscriber here to gain access to both the 5AM StoryTalk newsletter and podcast

·     Hart Hanson’s website (includes info on all TV series and novels that come up)

·     Trailer for “Bones”

·     Trailer for “Northern Exposure”

·     Buy me a coffee to support my work here