📺 Philly’s TV spotlight | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to Saturday. It may start partly sunny, but showers are expected.

Today, I’m talking about how writers of Philly-set TV shows navigate embracing and portraying the complex city.

But first, there’s new details about another arrest in the ongoing Jones Road wildfire, the restoration of two Philly grants cut by DOGE, and why the public won‘t see the security review of the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro.

— Paola Pérez ([email protected])

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“Philly wears the good and the bad right out in the open. It’s beautiful, but it’s also messy. [...] It hands you everything — grit, pride, heart, frustration — and dares you to take it or leave it. And once it gets under your skin, it never really leaves.”

That Philly-proud caption struck me when it popped up on a feed this week. It reminded me of a piece my colleague Rosa Cartagena penned recently, on Philadelphia’s current spotlight through the AppleTV+ series Dope Thief. The show was adapted from a 2009 crime novel of the same name by Dennis Tafoya, a Philly author with a deep love and appreciation for the city’s unique presence and magnetism. And thankfully, as he told Rosa, executive producer and legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott understood the assignment.

To bring Philadelphia to audiences everywhere, showrunners, writers, and actors have to familiarize themselves with the city’s complicated character. Like the opioid crisis, as seen in Long Bright River, another new show set in the city. The miniseries was also born from a book, this one by Philly author Liz Moore, about a police officer searching for her missing sister in Kensington. The creative minds behind that project took on the challenge of portraying the community with accuracy and empathy, especially for a neighborhood that has been misrepresented in media.

This city has been depicted in plenty of fictional works and documentaries, but there’s something truly special about how certain productions nail its authenticity. For Moore, to stay true to Philly was not negotiable. Aubrey Whelan, our public health reporter, caught up with LBR writers and cast to learn about their nuanced approach to make the show, and their efforts to involve the community in its creation were evident. The result is a compelling drama that strikes a balance of rawness and compassion. It tugs at your heart and dares you to open your mind to the multidimensional nature of being human. And it gives the indomitable Philly spirit its rightful airing on TV.

I’ve had LBR on my mind since the day I finished it. Now I’m going to pick up the book that informed it, and also try to play catch-up on Dope Thief. Did you like either of these novels or shows? What are you reading or watching these days? Let me know your recommendations.

Philadelphia City Council’s health committee is considering a bill to increase penalties for retailers that sell e-cigarettes and unapproved nicotine products to underage youth.

In a column for The Inquirer, Andy Tan says this measure is long overdue.

“Retailers are, knowingly or not, participating in Big Tobacco’s predatory practices to the detriment of our young people in Philadelphia,” Tan writes.

Get Tan‘s take on how we can all help protect the city’s most vulnerable population from the industry’s attempts to hook the next generation.

Bruce Springsteen‘s guitarist Stevie Van Zandt is known for playing which supporting character on The Sopranos?

A) Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri

B) Silvio Dante

C) Ralph Cifaretto

D) Christopher Moltisanti

Think you know? Check your answer.

Hint: Private women‘s liberal arts institution

BOWLER CLERGYMAN

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Howard Rabinovitch who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Center City District. Pedestrian traffic and retail occupancy in core Center City are rebounding near 2019 levels, a new report by the downtown business improvement org found.

Phillies pitcher José Alvarado met Princeton “Prince” Bailey, the 12-year-old fan whose imitation of the reliever’s intense focus during Tuesday night‘s game against the Nationals went viral.

Alvarado gifted Bailey autographed baseballs, a jersey, a hat, and a handmade beaded necklace. Watch the video of their meeting here.

For a quick laugh, I keep replaying these clips of John Kruk and Tom McCarthy joking about baseball umpires’ fits, clocking Aaron Nola for texting him at 7 a.m., and learning why the bullpen has an elevator. McCarthy’s chuckles + Kruk’s musings = solid comedic combo.

And over on Instagram, the chatter on The Inquirer‘s “Delco Pooper” post did not disappoint. One person wrote: “I nearly broke my ankle running to the comments!” Philly’s punny bone will never break.

👋🏽 Take care, and I’ll see you back here again tomorrow.

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