Hollywood has a long and storied history of turning action movie characters into pop culture icons, but that doesn’t mean movie studios and production houses are necessarily great with realistic action. In fact, sometimes the end results are downright ridiculous. Chris Pratt was determined to present a more realistic and grounded version with his new series The terminal list† In fact, everyone involved was so committed to realism that their collective mantra was “No Hollywood Bullshit”.
The terminal list debuted this weekend on Amazon Prime, perfectly timed for the July 4 celebrations, and leading up to it, Chris Pratt spoke repeatedly about how real he wanted the show to feel. In an interview with TV Insider, the Guardians of the Universe star told the outlet about the No Hollywood Bullshit mantra and referenced his associates who worked with him to ensure authenticity.
The author of the source material, Jack Carr, is a former Navy SEAL. Jared Shaw, who shadowed Pratt for his role in the great movie Zero Dark Thirty, performs on the show and has an extensive military background. Both in front of and behind the camera, Pratt reportedly got a lot of veterans involved to give the project authenticity and make sure every scene passed the “sniff test.” Here’s part of his direct quote…
We made sure every episode passed the “sniff test” with our trifecta of special operators, Jack, Jared and Ray (Mendoza), another former SEAL and our military advisor, as well as Max Adams, our writer, who was a Ranger. Our mantra was: not a Hollywood bullshit. Make it real. But ultimately what matters most is that Reece’s actions are motivated by a real emotional line, that this connection between James Reece and his wife, his daughter, and his men resonates throughout the series.
The terminal list is an 8-episode series that follows Lieutenant Commander James Reece. After his Navy SEAL platoon is ambushed, he returns home and struggles to remember exactly what happened and what part he may or may not have played in it. His ensuing investigation leads to more questions and he begins to fear for the safety of himself and his family.
In addition to Chris Pratt, The terminal list starring Taylor Kitsch, Constance Wu, Riley Keough, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Pratt’s real-life brother-in-law Patrick Schwarzenegger. The last of those stars is also excited about all the military connections. He posted a combination of July 4th and a party post from The Terminal List on his Instagram. You can watch it below…
All 8 episodes of The terminal list are currently available on Amazon Prime to binge-watch the whole thing. The first reviews from critics were not the strongest, but the first reactions from fans were much more positive.