Episode 28: Garth Risk Hallberg On ‘City on Fire’, the New Apple TV+ Series Based On His 2015 Novel
Apple TV+ ‘City on Fire’ Series Trailer
Garth Risk Hallberg
Photo by Mark Vessey
Garth Risk Hallberg's first novel, ‘City on Fire’, was a ‘New York Times’ and international bestseller, has been translated into 17 languages, and was named one of the best books of 2015 by ‘The Washington Post’, ‘Los Angeles Times’, ‘San Francisco Chronicle’, ‘The Wall Street Journal’, NPR, and ‘Vogue’. He is also the author of a novella, ‘A Field Guide to the North American Family’. His short stories have appeared in ‘Prairie Schooner’, ‘Glimmer Train’, and ‘Best New American Voices 2008’, and he has written critical essays for ‘The New York Times Book Review’, ‘The Guardian’, ‘The Millions’, and ‘Slate’. He is also a two-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle's award for Excellence in Reviewing.
Garth Risk Hallberg and Christy Alexander Hallberg
About the Episode
Photo by Chris Eichler
EPISODE SUMMARY:
Garth Risk Hallberg is my guest in this episode of Rock is Lit. Full disclosure, Garth is the son of my late husband, Bill Hallberg, who was also a writer and teacher. Garth is here to talk about the new Apple TV+ series ‘City on Fire’, which is based on his 2015 international bestselling novel of the same title.
The first three episodes of this eight-episode music-driven mystery thriller premiere Friday, May 12, 2023. You can catch one new episode weekly through June 16, 2023.
If you haven’t seen the show trailer or read the novel yet, here’s a very brief synopsis of the plot: “A college student is shot in Central Park on July 4, 2003. The investigation connects a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.”
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Royalty free indie instrumental music
“Knuckleduster” by Muzz
“No One Knows” by Queens of the Stone Age
“NYC” by Interpol
Clip from CBS This Morning on Garth—Focuses on NYC 1977 Blackout
“Miami 2017” by Billy Joel
“The Rat” by The Walkmen
“You Only Live Once” by The Strokes
“Maps” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
‘City on Fire’ Apple TV webpage: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/city-on-fire/umc.cmc.r6vntb5r9wwbjwtt58xmyuz9
Garth Risk Hallberg, Lit Hub Interview on the TV series ‘City on Fire’: https://lithub.com/garth-risk-hallberg-goes-behind-the-scenes-of-the-city-on-fire-adaptation/
IndieBound website, where you can locate indie bookstores to purchase the novel ‘City on Fire’ by Garth Risk Hallberg: https://bookshop.org/shop/indiebound
‘City on Fire’ TV show creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage
‘City on Fire’ cast members Nico Tortorella, Max Milner, Wyatt Oleff, Chase Sui Wonders
