Home Before Dark follows "a young girl who moves from Brooklyn to the small coastal town her father left behind. While there, her dogged pursuit of the truth leads her to unearth a cold case that everyone in town, including her own father, tried hard to bury."[2]
On August 25, 2016, it was reported that Paramount Television Studios and Anonymous Content had optioned the screen rights to Hilde and Matthew Lysiak's forthcoming book series, Hilde Cracks the Case. The deal also reportedly include Hilde's life rights as well. Paramount Television Studios was expected to act as lead production company, and Joy Gorman Wettels and Sharlene Martin were set to serve as executive producers.[5]
On June 13, 2018, it was announced that Apple had given the untitled production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. The series was created by Dana Fox and Dara Resnik, both of whom are set to executive produce alongside Wettels, Martin, and Jon M. Chu. Production companies involved with the series were set to include Anonymous Content and Paramount Television Studios.[2][6][7]
Casting
On August 17, 2018, it was announced that Brooklynn Prince had been cast in the series' lead role.[8] On October 23, 2018, it was reported that Jim Sturgess had been cast in a starring role.[9] In November 2018, it was announced that Abby Miller, Louis Herthum, Michael Weston, Kylie Rogers, Aziza Scott, Adrian Hough, Joelle Carter, Jibrail Nantambu, and Deric McCabe had joined the cast in series regular roles.[10][11]
Filming
Principal photography for the first season was scheduled to take place from November 12, 2018 to April 15, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[12]
Apple renewed the series for a second season before the first season had aired,[13] which Dana Fox called "an enormous vote of confidence".[14] Filming for the second season was set to take place in Vancouver from January 27 to June 17, 2020.[13] Production of the second season was shut down on March 13, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[15][16] during filming of the fourth episode.[14] Production on the season resumed on September 14, 2020 and concluded on January 28, 2021.[17]
Initially untitled, the series was known as Magic Hour before being renamed Home Before Dark.[12][18] "Magic Hour" became the title of the pilot episode.[18]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 81% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.21/10. The website's critical consensus is, "Home Before Dark's central mystery is more intriguing than its mawkish writing lets on, but Brooklyn Prince's fiercely dedicated performance more than makes up for any narrative shortcomings."[19] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20]
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