Series filmed in region hits Netflix
PITTSBURGH — Sure, “Archive 81” is largely set in and around New York City. But to Matt McGorry, who plays podcaster Mark Higgins in the Netflix horror series, “Archive 81” is as much about where it was actually shot — western Pennsylvania — as it is the Big Apple.
“The spirit of where something is filmed usually makes it into the DNA of the show,” McGorry said. “I do feel like that is true in this case as well. As much as we’re supposed to be in New York City, I know for me it was always Pittsburgh and will forever be Pittsburgh in my mind.”
“Archive 81” is a television adaptation of the found-footage horror podcast of the same name that premiered last week on Netflix. It’s set across multiple timelines as present-day archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) races to understand what’s going on in the mysterious tapes he’s restoring. He’s also trying to help filmmaker Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), the main figure on those tapes, get out of a supernatural situation that’s been plaguing her since 1994.
Television diehards probably are familiar with McGorry thanks to his roles as John Bennett in Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” and Asher Millstone on ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder.” McGorry’s own pop culture consumption doesn’t include much horror, but being in one was fun for him because of the “great pleasure” he takes as an artist in exploring new genres.
He said that Mark skews closer to Asher than John in terms of their wisecracking, but otherwise, “Archive 81” is different from anything he’s worked on before.
“There’s a sense of groundedness and competence in him that I haven’t played before in ‘Orange’ or “How to Get Away with Murder,’” McGorry said. “Mark has a very deep center. There’s also a sense of dry humor that I don’t use a lot in my day-to-day life.”
“Archive 81” was the first major production to get up and running in Pittsburgh after the COVID-19 pandemic shut all such work down in March 2020. It filmed here alongside another Netflix television project, “The Chair,” which premiered on the streaming service in August.
