Tracy Spiridakos and Lea Thompson Discuss Anna Pigeon on USA Network
- When the creative team set out to adapt Nevada Barr’s bestselling book heroine into a small-screen character for the USA Network series Anna Pigeon, they selected two specific...
- Unlike the majority of the production, which is filmed on location in the Canadian wilderness, the cave sequences required custom construction, according to executive producer and director Lea...
- Tracy Spiridakos discussed the psychological toll of the cave scenes, noting how her character's visions of Zach shift from initial encouragement into a harsh confrontation with deep-seated guilt.
Adapting Nevada Barr’s The Rope for USA Network
When the creative team set out to adapt Nevada Barr’s bestselling book heroine into a small-screen character for the USA Network series Anna Pigeon, they selected two specific novels to anchor the inaugural season. The first novel in the series, Track of the Cat, served as the structural outline for the pilot episode. Midway through the first season, creators turned to Barr’s 17th novel, The Rope. Showrunner Morwyn Brebner described the book during a November on-set interview as one of the most exciting entries in the literary series, a sentiment highlighted in TV Insider coverage.
Constructing the Cave and Filming the Survival Sequence
Unlike the majority of the production, which is filmed on location in the Canadian wilderness, the cave sequences required custom construction, according to executive producer and director Lea Thompson. Thompson explained in interviews with TV Insider that the production did not have access to a standard soundstage. Instead, the team built a half-constructed set inside a quonset hut that consumed a massive portion of the show’s budget. The narrative centers on Anna waking up in a barren cave with a hole in the roof and no memory of how she arrived, struggling with starvation, severe dehydration, and hallucinations of her late husband, Zach, played by Jordan Sledz.
Confronting Grief and Past Roles
Tracy Spiridakos discussed the psychological toll of the cave scenes, noting how her character’s visions of Zach shift from initial encouragement into a harsh confrontation with deep-seated guilt. Spiridakos explained that the sequence represents a major turning point and growth moment for Anna, teaching her that she can eventually open up to colleagues and friends at Glacier National Park, such as Jesse, played by Cooper Levy. In a separate appearance on the Today show covered by BroadwayWorld, Spiridakos also noted the professional challenge of transitioning to Anna Pigeon after playing Hailey Upton on Chicago P.D., explaining that she had to actively unlearn habits from her previous television role to build the new character entirely from scratch.
