666 PARK AVENUE: Executive Producer Matt Miller Teases the New ABC Series

ABC gets a little more mysterious tonight when 666 PARK AVENUE debuts.

Set at luxurious apartment complex, The Drake, residents there seem to have the habit of getting their deepest, darkest wishes fulfilled. Unfortunately, the price is a bit more steep than most people should be willing to pay, but… the temptation is strong. And if you need more incentive to check out the show tonight (at 10 PM on ABC), the series happens to star Terry O’Quinn, Vanessa Williams, Dave Annable, Rachael Taylor, Mercedes Masöhn, and Robert Buckley.

I talked with executive producer Matt Miller to see what else he could share about the new show…

When did ABC and 666 PARK AVENUE creator David Wilcox bring you into the mix for the show?
Matt Miller: I got involved in the pilot phase. The show had been picked up by ABC and…we made the pilot in New York and we were lucky enough to get ordered and make the show. I’m very excited.

It feels a bit that 666 is unlike anything that ABC really has on the air right now. What are the good and bad parts of that?
MM: I think it’s almost a different show than anyone has on the air right now, which is really nice. It’s really refreshing to be able to write something — and it’s also really challenging — where it’s not like there’s a dead body by the end of act one and you have to solve a crime. And then at the same time, it’s not a pure soap; it falls in the middle. So it feels like a very exciting opportunity. There’s a bit of TWILIGHT ZONE in there. In the same way, I’d think, when they were making LOST, they were feeling like they were doing something that wasn’t on the air and had an opportunity to tell stories in a different way and we feel that way with 666. That’s not to say we’re LOST, the bar has been set high with them, but we’re using that as a template to tell stories.

Given your 10 PM time slot, is there a temptation to go a little bit darker and be a bit more gory than what we’ll see in the pilot?
MM: There definitely is a temptation and we’re actually using it to go a little bit darker in storytelling, a little bit more aggressive, a little more risque. We were talking [earlier] about whether 10 o’clock is a good time slot. Not as many people watch television at 10, [but] some of the stories and the beats we’re telling, we wouldn’t be able to tell at 9 o’clock. So it has its advantages.

Since the show is so brand new, is it difficult having the show film in New York when the writers are based in Los Angeles?
MM: It’s difficult in that if there’s a problem [with how a scene is playing out] on the set, you can’t just roll over there…you sort of pick and choose when you’re here and when you’re there.

In the first batch of episodes, how much backstory will get from the characters
MM: Yeah, a lot of backstories. We’ll learn a lot about how everyone ended up at the Drake, whether they’re in a deal or not. Not just the main [group], but the peripheral characters.

Is that how guest stars will play into the show?
MM: We’ll have some guest stars who come in for one episode, and we’ll have some that come in for four episodes. Those will be longer “resident of the week” kind of stories. And if those people pop, it’s possible to make them series regulars.

–

Make sure to check back next week for more on 666 PARK AVENUE!

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And to be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/givememyremotetv