Thought Bubble 2023: Jeff Lemire On ‘Essex County’ – “I’ll Never Do TV Again”
by Olly MacNamee
In a UK first, Jeff Lemire presented the pilot episode of his new TV show, Essex County, based on the graphic novel of the same name. But, unlike his involvement with Sweet Tooth (on Netflix), Lemire took on the role of producer, admitting he was on set constantly and often there “for every shot,” to keep his vision intact. And as a result Lemire admitted he would “never do TV again” for a number of reasons.
Citing the slow pace of casting, writing, rewriting and producing a show for the CBC/ITV join venture, when compared with creating comics, Lemire was left feeling – reading between the lines – drained and frustrated. That’s not to say he isn’t ecstatic about Essex County – he certainly spoke about it like a proud father – but with the five-part finite series in the bag, he repeatedly affirmed during the Q+A, he would “never do TV again.”
After a number of false starts (something Black Hammer is still going through in its journey to finding a home on television) Lemire finally found the perfect partner in Irish filmmaker Eilis Kirwan, with the two of them starting production on the show in 2020. A decision that forced Lemire to give up making comics the following year. Something he sounded like he regretted. Indeed, once he returned to scripting he was delighted, enjoying the solitude of creating comics with just him and his artistic partner to worry about rather than the hundreds of people involved in creating a show for television. In fact “the greatest day of (his) life” was sitting down to start making his beloved comics again: “It was so comfortable, so relaxing. It’s so nice to sit at a desk and not talk toanyone.”
And while Essex County has already aired in Canada, it will be coming to the US and UK sometime in 2024.
As for what fans can expect? Well, from the pilot episode I saw, expect a slow-burn, moody show with plenty of simmering tension. But, with some big differences from the graphic novel. But, I’ll let you find out for yourselves, sometime in 2024, what those differences are.
