The new Apple TV+ psychological dramaBeforeis not what you’d expect famed comedian Billy Crystal’s latest project to be. It may be even more surprising to learn that the unique show, in which a grieving child psychiatrist finds a young boy at his doorstep who appears to have eerie connections to his past, originated with Crystal himself.Beforeis a dark, tense look into grief, human connection, and even the supernatural in which mysteries abound and are slowly unraveled over the course of 10 episodes.
Though the idea for the series originated with Crystal, the person who crafted the show into what it would eventually became is co-creator, writer, and showrunner Sarah Thorp. Thorp worked with Crystal andDunewriter Eric Rothon the series, and leaned into the darker aspects of the supernatural side of the story. Thorp’s past work as a writer includesJacob’s Ladder, Hawthorne,andThe Bounty Hunter.
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Screen Rantinterviewed Sarah Thorp about her role in the creation ofBefore. She discussed working with Billy Crystal to turn his original idea into theApple TV+ showit became, how she navigated dispensing information about the mysteries at the hart of the show, and more. Take a look below—Beforepremieres on Apple TV+ on October 25.
Sarah Thorp Talks Leaning Into The Genre Side Of Before
The Series Was Originally A Lighter Take On Its Story
Screen Rant: I understand this idea originated with Billy Crystal and he and Eric Roth worked on it and then kind of brought you on. This is so not what we would expect from Billy Crystal, in an amazing way. What was the tone of this going to be before you joined, and can you talk about how it got to where it’s now?
Sarah Thorp: I joined really early on, but they already had a sense that it was going to be not a typical Billy Crystal thing. It was already sort of a drama, a thriller, but we developed it together for a number of years, and it definitely evolved over time. I think that it was probably a little lighter earlier on. I think we started leaning into some of the genre elements because they were suiting the emotional story that we were telling. It felt like such a good fit—we talk a lot about grief and unresolved trauma and all those things, and it was such a hand-in-hand fit with the genre elements that we started really going down that path.
Thorp Reflects On Working With Both Billy Crystal & Jacobi Jupe
Crystal Remained Very Hands-On & Jupe Was The Result Of A Huge Casting Search
When we meet him, Eli—Crystal’s character—is kind of defined by his loss because it’s so fresh. How did you want to explore those feelings the way that you did? Because it’s really interesting that his wife is an active participant in this.
Sarah Thorp: We really thought about that brownstone where he lives as very alive with the memory of his wife and how he just finds himself completely stuck, completely trapped, and completely dissociated from himself. His grief is kind of coloring everything around him. That’s where we wanted to start with him, because he is someone who needs to be jarred out of it. So, when this kid shows up out of nowhere, that’s the catalyst for the journey that Eli goes on.
Sarah Thorp: He’s really good, isn’t he?
How’d you find him? What was that process like?
Sarah Thorp: We auditioned hundreds of amazing, talented kids, but we knew that this actor had to be really unique and really special. He doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, and he’s almost always in crisis in this show. When we met Jacobi, it was instantly clear that he was operating on a whole different level and, on the set, it was like he’d been professionally acting for decades. He’s just a natural. He’s amazing.
You’re showrunning this, but how involved were Billy and Eric once production started? Billy Crystal is starring in it, obviously, but did they have a lot of ideas as things were happening as far as changes go?
Sarah Thorp: We worked really closely in developing the whole project. Once I went into the room with the writers and really built out the show, Billy was on Broadway at the time every day. That guy is nonstop. So, Eric and Billy were both reading scripts and reading outlines, but they really let the writer’s room shape where the show was going, which was amazing. We had incredible support from them.
Then, once we got on the set, Eric was less involved in the production stuff. He’s really more involved in the script process. But, obviously, once we’re on the set with Billy, Billy likes to know everything that’s going on. He wants to know what lens is being used on the camera. He is experienced in all of the elements of this, and he’s a very hands-on guy, so that was amazing—to have him be actively a part of everything that was happening. But also, at the same time, he really trusted the scripts. He really stuck to what was on the page. We had some great directors that came in [and] he was really willing to be like, “Tell me what you want. Tell me what to do.” So, it was a great collaboration.
Thorp Discusses Maintaining Tension Through Storytelling & VFX
It All Comes Back To The Emotion Of The Characters
This might be a little nerdy, but there’s a screenwriting podcast that I love and they talk about this thing of ‘mystery versus confusion’, which is keeping an audience engaged with the mystery without confusing them for no reason. And I feel like this show does that so successfully because you’re just on the edge of your seat wanting to know what’s going on. How did you balance that and work with the writers to make sure that it was just enough to keep someone through the episodes?
Sarah Thorp: I’m happy to hear that, and I think that what we always tried to stay focused on is, “Where is he in his emotional journey?” If you’re always with the character and following his process of what he needs to find and get to, that dictates everything else that’s happening. So, we never were just throwing in a twist just to be, “Here’s a twist.” It was always a part of that journey that he’s on. Hopefully that keeps you on track, like you said, with just enough. At the same time, we’re aware of, “Okay, but something needs to happen so they come back to the next episode.” So, you’re balancing those two things.
I also want to talk about the VFX, because there are so many creepy things happening all the time. How did work with both the VFX department and the actors to realize these mental images that are just everywhere?
Sarah Thorp: For the actors, I don’t know how they did it. They just did it and were amazing, so I can’t speak to that. Jacobi was just like, “I’m picturing it in my mind,” and then he would just do this whole thing. It was incredible.
And working with VFX was definitely a process. There’s one thing to write it on the page, but then to actually… it’s a huge challenge to bring alive something that’s meant to have this sort of ambiguous nightmare quality to it, and also to evolve [it] so that hopefully at first you’re getting this weird sensation and it’s building on itself. That was a long process. We had a great VFX team that I think did a really good job.
You were so involved with the writing and working with the writers, but once you entered into production and started seeing this stuff come to life in front of your eyes, was there anything that surprised you that felt like a “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” kind of thing?
Sarah Thorp: I think I would just say that the later episodes have to work or the show doesn’t work, and I knew that they were going to be a challenge. They’re logistically challenging by what we’re doing, but they’re also emotionally challenging. VFX had to bring it, but the actors really had to bring it. Billy and Judith have these incredible scenes toward the end of the season that were just amazing to watch, and I think they really come across on screen, and that was the stuff that you’re kind of waiting to see, “Is it going to work?” And I think they did a fantastic job.
Will Before Get A Season 2?
It Is A Limited Series, But “You Never Know”
I’ve seen this called a limited series and a miniseries. For people that are watching this and get totally hooked and want there to be more, is there hope, or do we quash that now?
Sarah Thorp: Well, it is a limited series. There’s a beginning, middle, and end. All I can say is that I loved writing this character. I loved working with Billy. I love this genre. So, you never know.
About Before
Before stars Billy Crystal as Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn (Judith Light), encounters a troubled young boy, Noah (Jacobi Jupe) who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past. As Eli attempts to help Noah, their mysterious bond deepens, sparking haunting memories and unearthing unsettling secrets about the past. The ensemble cast also includes Rosie Perez, Maria Dizzia and Ava Lalezarzadeh.
Before
Cast
Before: After losing his wife, child psychiatrist Dr. Eli Adler becomes entangled with a disturbed young boy linked to his past. The series unravels the complex intersections of grief and memory as Dr. Adler searches for answers, revealing deeper connections between his present and the boy’s mysterious background.
