Escape at Dannemora | |
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Genre | Drama Thriller |
Created by | Brett Johnson Michael Tolkin |
Directed by | Ben Stiller |
Starring | |
Composer | Edward Shearmur |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 7 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Cinematography | Jessica Lee Gagné |
Running time | 51–98 minutes |
Production companies | Michael De Luca Productions Red Hour Productions |
Original release | |
Network | Showtime |
Release | November 18 December 30, 2018 | –
Escape at Dannemora is an American crime drama television limited series that premiered on Showtime on November 18, 2018. It is based on the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape. The seven-episode series was created and written by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin and directed by Ben Stiller. It stars Benicio del Toro, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano, Bonnie Hunt, Eric Lange, and David Morse.[1][2][3]
Plot
The series is based on the true story of the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape in upstate New York. The escape prompted a massive manhunt for the two convicted murderers, who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled.[1]
Cast
Main
- Benicio del Toro as Richard Matt,[4] a convicted murderer
- Patricia Arquette as Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell,[4] a married prison worker who becomes romantically entangled with both Matt and Sweat and aids in their escape
- Paul Dano as David Sweat, a convicted murderer
- Bonnie Hunt as Catherine Leahy Scott, the New York State Inspector General heading up a formal investigation of the Matt–Sweat prison escape[5]
- Eric Lange as Lyle Mitchell, Tilly's husband and maintenance worker at Clinton Correctional
- David Morse as Gene Palmer, the inmate escort guard at Clinton Correctional
Recurring
- Jeremy Bobb as Dennis Lambert, a corrections officer and friend of Lyle[6]
- Michael Beasley as Murder, an inmate who’s given Sweat’s job as shop supervisor upon his firing.
- Joshua Rivera as Angel, a fellow inmate of Matt and Sweat's.
- Carolyn Mignini as Ilene Mulvaney, Tilly’s supervisor who frequently butts heads with her
- Gregory Dann as Albert Boyd, the fearsome and most loathed correctional officer at Clinton Correctional. Matt and Sweat made their escape on Boyd's shift.
Guest
- Michael Imperioli as Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York[7]
- Charlie Hofheimer as Kenny Barrile, Sr.
- Jim Parrack as Kevin Tarsia, a deputy sheriff
Production
Principal production commenced in Upstate New York from August 2017 to March 2018.[1][8] For their roles, Patricia Arquette and Eric Lange each gained 40 pounds.[9] Episode 6, the flashback episode, was filmed on 16 mm, unlike the rest of the series. Episode 6 was also the final episode filmed, so Arquette and Lange could lose the excess weight gained over the course of production. Director Ben Stiller decided to shut down production for a month and resume filming the episode once Arquette and Lange lost the weight. However, production was further delayed three weeks to accommodate the birth of Lange's son.[10]
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Part 1" | Ben Stiller | Brett Johnson & Michael Tolkin | November 18, 2018 | 0.397[11] |
2 | "Part 2" | Ben Stiller | Brett Johnson & Michael Tolkin | November 25, 2018 | 0.487[12] |
3 | "Part 3" | Ben Stiller | Jerry Stahl | December 2, 2018 | 0.559[13] |
4 | "Part 4" | Ben Stiller | Brett Johnson & Michael Tolkin | December 9, 2018 | 0.541[14] |
5 | "Part 5" | Ben Stiller | Brett Johnson & Michael Tolkin | December 16, 2018 | 0.664[15] |
6 | "Part 6" | Ben Stiller | Brett Johnson & Michael Tolkin & Jerry Stahl | December 23, 2018 | 0.586[16] |
7 | "Part 7" | Ben Stiller | Brett Johnson & Michael Tolkin | December 30, 2018 | 0.719[17] |
Reception
Critical response
The series was met with acclaim upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 88% with an average rating of 7 out of 10, based on 60 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Escape at Dannemora's slow pace demands patience, but those willing to wait will be rewarded with a chilling mystery that provides the perfect showcase for its talented cast — especially a nearly unrecognizable and unbearably moving performance from Patricia Arquette."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 78 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19]
Response from Joyce Mitchell
In a December 2018 interview at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Joyce Mitchell criticized some events portrayed in the miniseries. She claimed, "I never had sex with them", referring to Richard Matt and David Sweat. She also harshly criticized director Ben Stiller, calling him "a son-of-a-bitch liar just like the rest of the world. He doesn't care about the truth. All he cares about is making millions off me. He's an idiot."[20]
Awards and nominations
- Notes
- ^ Arquette shared the award in a tie with Amy Adams for Sharp Objects.
References
- ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie (June 2, 2017). "Paul Dano Joins Benicio del Toro & Patricia Arquette As Ben Stiller's Prison Break Limited Series Gets Showtime Green Light". Deadline. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Pergament, Alan (September 20, 2018). "Dannemora prison break series coming soon". The Buffalo News. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ^ Evans, Greg (August 6, 2018). "Showtime Sets Date For Ben Stiller Prison Drama 'Escape At Dannemora', Releases Trailer – TCA". Deadline. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ a b Wagmeister, Elizabeth (June 2, 2017). "Ben Stiller's Prison Escape Series Starring Benicio del Toro, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano Greenlit at Showtime". Variety. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Petski, Denise (September 13, 2017). "'Escape At Dannemora': Bonnie Hunt To Co-Star In Showtime Limited Series". Deadline. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ Petski, Denise (August 17, 2017). "'Shut Eye' Casts Rowena King; Jeremy Bobb In 'Escape At Dannemora'". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (November 15, 2017). "Michael Imperioli to Guest Star in Showtime's 'Escape at Dannemora' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ^ McGovern, Joe (October 10, 2017). "Ben Stiller takes on true crime in Escape at Dannemora — first look". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ Giannotta, Meghan (November 15, 2018). "'Escape at Dannemora' actor transformed to become prison break's 'victim'". AM New York. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ Matthews, Liam (December 23, 2018). "Escape at Dannemora's Eric Lange Lost 35 Pounds for a Single Episode". TV Guide. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 20, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.18.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 28, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.25.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 4, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.2.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 11, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.9.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 18, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.16.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 27, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.23.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (January 2, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.30.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ "Escape at Dannemora (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Escape at Dannemora reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
- ^ Dorn, Sara (December 22, 2018). "Infamous 'Shawskank' prison seamstress: Showtime series is 'lies'". New York Post. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
- ^ Lewis, Hillary (September 24, 2019). "Artios Awards: 'Succession,' 'Pose,' 'Dead to Me' Among Casting Society TV, Theater Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- ^ Crist, Allison (January 13, 2019). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'Roma,' 'Americans,' 'Mrs. Maisel' Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (January 6, 2019). "Golden Globes 2019: See the full winners list". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ "DGA Awards: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 22, 2019). "Emmys 2019: Game of Thrones Ties Record and Leads TV Pack; Fleabag, Chernobyl and Mrs. Maisel Win Big". TVLine. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- ^ Hill, Libby (September 14, 2019). "Complete Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2019 Winners List: 'Game of Thrones' Torches Competitors". IndieWire. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (January 20, 2019). "PGA Awards: 'Green Book' Wins Top Feature Film Award". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (January 27, 2019). "SAG Awards: 'Black Panther' Nabs Top Film Prize; Rami Malek, Glenn Close Among Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 19, 2019). "'Pose,' 'Russian Doll,' HBO Lead 2019 TV Critic Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 22, 2019.