Ori Pfeffer, Richard A. Grand and Jason Isaacs in USA's Dig

Jason Isaacs in USA's Dig

Jason Isaacs and Anne Heche in USA's Dig

Producers Tim Kring and Gideon Raff of USA's Dig

Fill 1
Fill 1
February 19, 2015
In The Mix

Going Underground

Jerusalem’s ancient locations inspire modern intrigues in USA’s Dig.

Lisa Rosen

USA’s new event series, Dig, does just that, going far below the surface both literally and metaphorically, and unearthing a 2,000-year-old conspiracy in the process.

The thriller, which debuts March 5 with 10 episodes, begins with the  murder of an American archeologist in Jerusalem, a city that sits above labyrinthine tunnels and caves that haven’t been seen in thousands of years. In fact, the setting inspired the show.

Gideon Raff, Dig’s co-creator with Tim Kring, recalls flying home to Israel from the Golden Globes with Avi Nir, CEO of Keshet, an Israeli media company.

“Avi mentioned that he always wanted to make a show about archeology in Jerusalem,” says Raff, who had created Prisoners of War for Keshet. When that show led to Homeland, he became an executive producer on the Showtime series.

Inspired by Nir’s comment, Raff came up with a four-page synopsis loaded with intrigue. “I found that every U.S. embassy has this role called legal attaché,  and that is really an FBI agent stationed on foreign soil, for investigating crimes committed against Americans or by Americans. I thought, that’s an amazing, franchisable character.”

He conjured up Peter Connelly, a damaged FBI agent who investigates the murder of an archeologist, only to uncover a huge conspiracy that threatens the world.

Raff was already working on Keshet’s Tyrant for FX, so he looked for  someone to Dig with him. He was introduced to Kring, “and it was an immediate love fest,” Raff says.

After the Tyrant pilot was shot, Raff moved over to work full-time on Dig, which is from Universal Cable Productions and was developed by Keshet in association with Gail Berman and Gene Stein.  Kring, who created Crossing Jordan and Heroes, says his sensibilities  blended perfectly with Raff’s.

“We both love the psychological, almost paranoid thrillers of the ‘70s.  The Parallax View, Three Days of the Condor — the idea of a seemingly insignificant character who scratches the surface of something vast, gets in over  his head and doesn’t have any idea who to trust. We wanted to tap into some  of that energy.”

They wrote the pilot on spec, visiting Jerusalem both above and below  ground. “We just let our imaginations go, but it was all based on true stuff that is happening in the world,” Raff says. “We’re both very political and involved and care about what’s happening, and the idea of making a show that is based in Jerusalem appealed to both of us very much.”

Casting was just as serendipitous. The two had met Jason Isaacs at a Hollywood event and were struck by how perfect he’d be for their lead. “We even told him that we were thinking about him as we were writing, and he was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’” Raff recalls.

At the time, Isaacs was starring in Awake, so they knew they couldn’t get him. But by the time they began casting, he’d become available, and they scooped him up.

The cast also includes Anne Heche, David Costabile, Lauren Ambrose, Alison Sudol and a host of new faces — new to American audiences, that is.

“The combination of Israeli and American actors is what makes it unique,” Kring says.

“Watching the casting tapes from Israel was so exciting, because the depth of the talent pool was really impressive for a small country. For every single part, you saw not just one person, but five or six people to choose from, with faces and a whole tone that you don’t see a lot here. As a result of Gideon’s relationships and reputation, we were able to work with some people who are mega-superstars there.”

Once assembled in Jerusalem, with a mostly Israeli crew, they dove in. “We shot in underground tunnels and caves, water cisterns and quarries — all from thousands of years ago,” Raff says. “These places have never been featured before on TV.”

Even Raff, born and raised in Jerusalem, was unaware some of them existed.

“It was truly a moving experience. We were in tunnels where the Jews hid during the rebellion against the Romans, and when the Romans discovered where they were, they set the tunnels on fire, killing thousands. The walls were still black from charcoal.”

After filming the pilot, they were prepping the second and third episodes when fighting broke out in Gaza between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas. The production relocated to Croatia (for Jerusalem) and New Mexico (for desert scenes). The two creators rolled with the changes.

“Gideon and I work in a very similar way — neither one of us is very precious about anything,” Kring says. “In our careers, we’ve both gotten used to being pretty adaptable. This show has a lot of moving parts, and you have to adjust your thinking.”

Kring is in west Los Angeles with the writing staff, while Raff is on set in Croatia. The conspiracy and the drama constantly feed each other, to the point that the writers say they don’t yet know how the story is going to play out.

“If you try to tell a story what it’s supposed to be, it kind of fights back,” Kring says. “In some ways the story has to start to tell you what it wants to be. Writing yourself into corners can be a good thing. There are always questions that you don’t have the answers for.”

And that’s what keeps you digging.

 

Photos: Christopher Polk/NBC




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