ED REDLICH...WITHOUT A TRACE.

Ed Redlich is the executive producer and show runner of the popular television series 'Without A Trace'. The series focuses on a special unit of the FBI whose mission it is to locate missing people by constructing a minute by minute time line. The more the team learns about the missing person the greater the chance of figuring out the disappearance and whether or not foul play was involved. Redlich was also previously a co-producer on 'The Practice' and a co-executive producer on 'Felicity'. AUSUS Magazine spoke to Redlich about working with the two Australian leads, Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery, his career so far and plans for the future.

 Q: What's your background?

 I grew up in New York City on the west side of Washington Square Park. I originally wanted to be a lawyer and studied law at New York University where my father was Dean of the law department back in the seventies and eighties. 

Q: How did you come to work on 'Without a Trace'?

 Well, I'd worked on 'Felicity' in New York and 'Jack and Jill' with Amanda Peet, as well as two years on 'The Practice'. Also a pilot for CBS that never got made. I knew Hank Steinberg, the creator of the show, and I like to work with people I like and that was that. I'd originally met Hank in the lobby of the Emmy awards one year. We were watching the baseball on TV and just started talking. He's a Yankee's fan and I'm a Mets fan. I was also drawn to investigating the life of a missing person. It's not really procedural television. 

Q: How did you find the Australian leads?

I'd known about Anthony for some time and I think he's a fantastic actor. He had expressed interest in the show and we literally waited for him to say yes. He'd just finished shooting the film 'Lantana', which I had actually watched to see Barbara Hershey's work, who I was considering for a different pilot. Poppy Montgomery, the other Australian on the show, plays the role of Samantha Spade. This part was originally conceived for an older woman but at one point, however, I saw 'Blonde' with Poppy playing the lead. Even though she's younger than we had envisioned the character, she displayed a certain intelligence on screen which convinced us she could play this role. So we wrote the part a little younger and cast her. It's really interesting too, that although there's the age difference between her and Anthony, they have a strange sexual chemistry between them which many people have noticed and commented on. 

Q: Do they have a dialect coach on set?

 No. They speak exactly the same in real life as they do on the show. Anthony has a perfect American accent because he's lived here for such a long time. I heard that he actually had to be coached for his Australian accent in 'Lantana'. And Poppy's accent is very good too. Occasionally I'll here her Australian creeping in, but she's also lived here a long time. 

Q: How involved do the actors get in script development?

Very. We put out a production draft about eight day's before the shoot. Often the actors, particularly Anthony, will want to talk about the story and suggest changes. So we'll make changes based on the notes given us by the actors, the studio and the network. It can be very scary as a writer. Our plots become increasingly complicated and we have to continue to connect the dots. Often we fall short on the emotional side of the story and this is where the actors can help us find a way in. We're constantly trying to find interesting and challenging stuff for Anthony. We try to write at least one or two scenes per episode where he can go to town. And sometimes, even if the writing isn't strong, he'll still be able to do that. We try to involve all the actors early on in what the show will feel like. I also go on set and discuss character and plot with the actors. We don't often do table reads, though they can be very valuable.

Q: How long does it take to write an episode?

About seven to ten days writing the first draft and another seven or eight to refine it. We work fast. Other shows, such as 'CSI' are slower. At one point the actors in 'NYPD Blue' had to read their lines from teleprompters. If we're not on time everyone else falls behind. It makes everyone else's job more difficult. 

Q: Which episode did you write?

'Hang on to me' which starred Charles Dutton. I'm really proud of that episode.

Q: What are your duties as a show runner?

 As a show runner I'm basically involved in every element of production. Set construction, writing, casting, editing, making changes based on notes from both the studios and the network. I have to be able to delegate jobs to other people and I also have to be able to make decisions. You can imagine what it's like to be in the room with our nine staff writers and no one can reach agreement. We could be there for days. I also have to constantly communicate with CBS, though the Bruckheimer folks help out a lot with this. With casting I'm always at the producers sessions, particularly for the three or four most important guest starring roles that episode. Sometimes we use stars for these parts but they don't audition. We just make them an offer and negotiate from there. 

Q: What do you want your career to look like when it's all said and done?

Most show runners will probably say that this is what I wanted to do. I'm more interested in films, however, as I like to work on character. In television, because of the time crunch, the plot tends to be the star and it's difficult to slip in character. If the show runs for a long time it can be possible, like the series 'Thirty Something' ,where the characters really evolved and became very deep. I want to work on films that have a really compelling and interesting story. I'd like to make something that my friends would watch. I love that when the lights go down in a movie theater the audience is really there for those two hours. I want to work on just one thing at a time. I'd like to write any one script as good as a single Paul Simon song. Which I say because I consider him pretty accomplished and also because I love his music. The problem with TV is that you can labor in post production over just two frames and in reality most people have missed it because they've gone to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Q: What do you think is the 'message' of 'Without a Trace'?