‘Homicide: Life on the Set’ Podcast to Premiere on March 7

Thirty years after “Homicide: Life on the Street” hit the airwaves, a UK filmmaker and podcaster and a Baltimore camera assistant decided it was time to revisit the groundbreaking drama that garnered numerous awards during its seven seasons on NBC. Their new monthly behind-the-scenes podcast, Homicide: Life on the Set, premieres in March, focusing on creators and crew, including engaging conversations with camera, lighting and sound techs, creators, writers, actors, directors and more, including Jean de Segonzac, Tom Fontana and Kyle Secor.

“In early 2023, I started researching and developing a concept for a UK-based police film,” filmmaker Chris Carr said. “Always a huge fan of ‘Homicide,’ especially its gritty, cinéma-vérité shooting style, I started looking for a camera crew member to interview about how the show was shot. Susan Ingram, a camera assistant, agreed to talk with me and that’s how we got cracking.”

“I was excited when Chris emailed and asked to talk about how we shot ‘Homicide,’” Ingram said. “I was on the show for six of the seven seasons, and it was the last show I did before leaving the film business after about 20 years. It was a challenging, but really fun show to work on. And, like me, most crew members say it was a highlight of their careers.”

Produced by Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, “Homicide” was inspired by the David Simon book, “Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.” The show broke ground with its use of 100% hand-held 16mm cameras providing its signature look—unlike any1990s network drama—and has been much imitated since. Besides its unique, “gritty” look, the hand-held cameras also allowed the crew to move fast, covering multiple locations and many script pages per day. It also kept energy high on the set, translating to realistic and energetic performances by its stunning ensemble cast and veritable who’s-who list of guest actors. Directors, mostly from the feature- film world, added another layer of prestige to the Baltimore production.

The monthly “Homicide: Life on the Set” podcast, premiering March 7, 2024, kicks off with cinematographer and director Jean de Segonzac, with episodes highlighting actor Kyle Secor; creators and writers Tom Fontana, Julie Martin and Jorge Zamacona; and gaffer Josh Spring and key grip Joe Kurtz. Later conversations include sound techs, assistant directors, actors, set designers, and more.

“‘Homicide’ deserves a revisit,” Ingram said. “And hopefully will be available to stream soon!”