“We Didn’t Put Anna in a Box”: Morwyn Brebner Wants You to Escape Into Tracy Spiridakos’ Cinematic Anna Pigeon

While television has no shortage of mysteries, Anna Pigeon sets itself apart as an adaptation of Nevada Barr’s bestselling novels, with breathtaking scenery and a magnetic lead.

It also marks another addition to USA Network’s scripted drama slate, debuting this summer just as we’re clamoring for more content.

Ahead of the premiere, we were fortunate enough to speak with showrunner and executive producer Morwyn Brebner — an award-winning talent tied to some of the most endearing (and often Canadian) projects that have warmed our hearts over the years.

And we dove into the stunning scenery that brings Anna Pigeon to life, adapting such a popular series to the small screen, Tracy Spiridakos‘ fantastic performance, and the collaboration with so many women on this delightful project.

What made Nevada Barr’s novels — and Anna Pigeon herself — the perfect story to adapt?

Oh my goodness. Well, the first thing you look for is an incredible character. Nevada Barr is an amazing writer, first of all.

The novels — they came to me because Lea Thompson, who’s the executive producer and director on the show, had optioned them.

And another producer sent me the first book, Track of the Cat, and I read it and was like, “This character is amazing!”

It’s the first thing you look for as an incredible character: this woman who’s like, so kick-ass and bad-ass, but also vulnerable and funny. And who’s been through something.

It’s like an amazing person to be in an adventure with. And then also the national parks, which are the most incredible setting for a mystery, like the most beautiful, unexpected, wonderful, surprising place.

The character and the place were just really irresistible. I felt really lucky to adapt it. I immediately loved it. I feel so grateful that it came my way.

The national park almost feels like another character in the series.

They give the show such a unique atmosphere compared to your typical crime drama with the concrete jungle, city-slicker angle.

Oh, I’m so glad you feel that way because it felt that way to me too.

The story is about Anna, who starts out as a city slicker — which, you know, I am — and after something really terrible happens to her, she reinvents herself and becomes a park ranger.

When we made the show, which is set in Glacier National Park, we filmed outside Calgary, Alberta, in Bragg Creek. The books are set all across the national parks, and Nevada Barr was a park ranger. So she’s coming at it with like a lot of authority.

We shot all on location, and you can see in the show the mountains, and we shot our stuff where the ranger station is on this beautiful back lot.

And we had no studio.

Usually, you shoot your interiors in a studio and a very controlled environment. And we didn’t have it. We were always on this beautiful back lot with this incredible sparkling river running through the back lot and these cabins.

Our production designer did this amazing job of turning it into this like place for our park rangers.

It felt like the magic of shooting in this way sort of reflected the magic of the setting, of Glacier, you know? We would drive to work in the morning, and the sun would be rising and turning the mountains red. It was an incredible experience that way.

Adapting a beloved book series is never easy. How did you strike the right balance between staying faithful to the novels while still making the show your own?

That’s a really good question.

You have to respond to something in it. I really responded to Anna’s desire to find her way back to love and being with people, you know, and her willingness to go towards danger.

I thought those were great qualities, and it helps when the books are great. And the books are great.

We solve a little mystery every week. Finding ways to find mystery in the park and what kind of people come into the park and who Anna encounters was something I thought a lot about, and Track of the Cat is one of the books.

That book sort of became the scaffolding for the entire season.

And then in the middle of the season, we took another book of Nevada Barr’s called The Rope, which is sort of Anna’s origin story. We updated it, moved it up to the present, and put that in the middle of the season, which I don’t know if that’s a spoiler.

I took what was from the book and tried to range all across the national parks, and they have different characters. One of the first things was trying to figure out which of the other Rangers belonged in Glacier. Like, who were the right Rangers for that?

What was our villain going to be like, you know? You want to take the essence.

Someone once said to me that adapting a book is like squeezing an orange to get the juice.
I love that metaphor. I’m like, “Yeah, just squeeze it, squeeze it. What’s the juice?”

So, what’s the juice?

It was trying to be true to the books because Nevada has a lot of fans and the books are amazing, but also, as you said, bringing something new into them. She’s so good at writing about nature. And of course we don’t want to write about nature. We want to see the nature.

Trying to turn that thing you talked about, the beauty of the parks, into something we can show, not tell. That was a major thing.

Tracy Spiridakos captures so many different sides of Anna. She’s vulnerable, spunky, defiant, funny — there’s so much going on beneath the surface. What makes her the right person to bring Anna to life?

Tracy Spiridakos — there’s no one else who could have brought Anna to life in that way. Tracy is an incredible actor. She can play anything.

Anna has this incredible sense of humor, and the way Tracy embodies that feels really true and right. Her boldness — Tracy brings a sense of adventure.

She brings a vulnerability. She brings a real — I think of Anna as the kind of character where if you fall in that river, she’s like, “I’m not going to drag you out.” And then someone falls in the river, and she’s like, “I guess I’m dragging you out.”

She’s that person. Tracy really brings a fullness to Anna. She’s not one thing. You really feel like the truth of her as Anna, and she’s kick-ass, and she’s funny.

I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part. I feel so lucky to work with Tracy, and she’s an amazing leader on set.

It’s hard to even talk about it because it feels so innate. She just became Anna, and it was impossible to imagine anyone else.

The series also celebrates female relationships on-screen and behind the scenes. You have Anna and her sister; you have Anna and Zoe. Then, of course, you have female directors and executive producers, like there’s so much wonderful feminine energy.

Oh, thank you. Our producing team on the ground was all female.

What’s the difference with working with all women on the ground, and how does that change the energy and effect when bringing a complex, nuanced female protagonist to life?

I think one of the things it brings is that you don’t put anybody in a box.

We didn’t put Anna in a box; Tracy didn’t put Anna in a box. I think there was a real collaboration and communication that was really true, with everyone, and I think that shows. Sometimes you create a really collaborative, open environment, and you hope for that.

I feel like between all the producers and Tracy and Lea, we really had that. It allowed for experimentation — for some audacity. I think Tracy’s such an audacious actor.

There was a real spirit of openness, and audacity, and collaboration, and communication. We all really wanted to make this beautiful show. And we wanted to make a handmade show that felt true and had a lot of heart.

I felt like that was a beautiful commitment to be part of that, that came from what you’re talking about.

Jeremiah quickly establishes himself as a formidable antagonist. What can you tease about that rivalry?

As much as we love Molly and Zoey — Tricia Helfer and Paulina Alexis are incredible — and as much as we grow to understand Molly and Anna’s sisterly bond and the relationship that develops between Anna and Zoey, Jeremiah brings something completely different.

Kim [Coates], he’s got a lot of charm, and the charm is a little veil between him and Anna.

She recognizes him immediately for who she is; she’s not intimidated by him. And so when he starts to make some bad choices, she doesn’t back down from him, and there are consequences for her.

I think that watching her just be unintimidated by him — I remember the first day on set when they had their first scene, I was like, “Oh, this is gonna be great.” He’s really a worthy adversary for her.

She’s protecting the park, a lover of the park, a lover of nature. She feels –I’m trying to be so careful and not spoil anything — he realizes she won’t back down from a fight. And she doesn’t.

Stanton also feels like a wonderful complement to Anna. He’s a great partner, and I love that dynamic as well.

Oh, Ronnie [Rowe], Ronnie’s amazing. He’s wonderful. I love that, just at the beginning, you see, you’re going to see the warmth grow between them, you know?

Finally, and maybe most importantly, what do you hope viewers take away from Anna Pigeon, and why should they tune in?

Oh, my goodness. Well, you should! If you want to see a kick-ass park ranger solve mysteries in an incredibly beautiful place. This is your show.

We’re premiering on August 7 on USA Network. It’s the summer. If you can’t go to a place, you can go to a beautiful place in our show.

And you can really be part of this. You can be part of Anna’s really wonderful adventures. And I think that it’s a show where you can commune with nature and see a great mystery solved.

Well, you heard the woman! Anna Pigeon premieres August 7 at 10/9c on USA Network.