Before diving into the Behind the Scenes for this season, I just wanted to make mention that now there is an audio version of this post now. With the show being designed with an audio first mentality and these Behind the Scenes getting longer, I thought recording myself reading the post would be helpful. If you would like to listen, the episode is right in the feed. I hope you enjoy!
It’s been a long season with you, the fans. And I’ll tell you all about it when the season comes to an end…
Which would be right now!
Welcome to the Behind the Scenes1 for Chapter Select Season 4 – The Fast & The Furious. Our longest season to date gave us the opportunity to explore the evolution, design, and legacy of an entirely new form of media for the show. And with the seasonal pivot to film, new creative challenges revved up during our production.
Why movies? So we could play more games! We explained it in the Season 4 trailer; we wanted to tackle an ambitious Season 5 with Resident Evil. Instead of drowning in a ton of games, we took the opportunity to explore films, which have a far lower time commitment to consume.
The decision wasn’t all time focused. I have wanted Logan to watch the Fast films for years now. They are movies I knew would be in his wheelhouse. Having a fresh perspective on movies that I have seen countless times was just as exciting as waiting for Logan to finally witness iconic moments like dragging a safe through the city or a real deal street fight.
The challenge for us was shifting to a new subject matter. Logan and I almost exclusively podcast about video games. We have for almost eight years. Of course we talk about anything and everything under the sun off the microphone, but rarely have we discussed films on air.
Now Chapter Select‘s signature bouncing back and forth format was directly inspired by James Bonding, a podcast that did just that for James Bond. The format is quite adaptable to film—really any media. What we needed to discover was how would our personal dynamic play out on a show about movies?
It was fun to stretch these critical analysis muscles for film. Logan and I even watched a couple movies together, chatting along the way. We haven’t really played a game together yet for the show (although Resident Evil presents an opportunity for some co-op). The season from start to finish was a success. It was a blast! I wager we will return to Hollywood someday, but until then, it is time for a deep, rich dive behind the scenes of this season’s production.
