In a world of streaming services, studios find themselves able to take some more risks in the kind of content they produce, not having to stick so close to network TV guidelines. Starz dove deep into the darkness of the human condition with their series, “Hightown,” which follows a National Marine Fisheries Service Agent in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Her life is thrust into chaos when she discovers a body on the beach, plunging her into the middle of the opioid crisis.
Monica Raymund earned her first lead role as Jackie Quiñones, a hard-partying agent who struggles with her own past and the addictions that come with it. In the midst of navigating her personal and professional life, her love life is a central focus, as Jackie is a lesbian Latina — a responsibility Raymund didn’t take lightly.
“We’re now at the point where we might be normalizing and destigmatizing the characteristics of the roles and the humans that occupy that space,” Raymund told NBC News. “It is still quite nascent, but I think that we’re moving quickly in terms of the exposure that we’re seeing of queer, BIPOC characters. To be able to really be with this lead character but focusing more on the crime, on the drama, on the story, as opposed to how she looks or how she identifies, is a huge leap forward.”