To begin with, the psychological thriller is based on the critically acclaimed 1962 and 1991 films of the same name. Like them, the 10-episode mini-series tells the story of Max Cady, a vicious ex-convict, who this time seeks revenge against Tom and Anna Bowden, the married couple who failed to keep him out of jail 17 years earlier.
Martin Scorsese — who directed the 1991 version of Cape Fear — is an executive producer alongside Steven Spielberg, while it was created by The Act and Candy’s Nick Antosca.
But it’s the all-star cast of Apple’s version of Cape Fear that really sets it apart from other shows.
Oscar-winner Javier Bardem takes on the role of Cady, who was previously played by Robert Mitchum and Robert DeNiro. Six-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams portrays Anna, Tony Award winner Patrick Wilson stars as Tom, and the ensemble is rounded out by CCH Pounder, Ron Perlman, Ted Levine, Lily Collias, and Jamie Hector.
Just like the earlier versions of Cape Fear, Georgia again plays a key role in this modern adaptation. While the show unfolds in Savannah, filming took place across Atlanta. (Mostly in Inman Park, as that’s where production found the perfect homes for the Bowdens and Max Cady, which had to be located across the street from each other.)
One of the keys to making the city look like Savannah was the deployment of Spanish moss, which staffers draped across many of its trees.
Cape Fear’s greens department, headed by Guy Covington, production designer Jamie McCall, and art director Ryan Garton, did such an impressive job with the foliage that locals regularly asked them during filming, “When did Atlanta start to have Spanish moss?” Even TikTokers started posting about the increase in Atlanta’s Spanish moss, only to discover it was just for filming.
Cape Fear’s creators were initially attracted to Inman Park because of its iron fences and brick streets, which were reminiscent of Savannah. It also helped that trees hung over the streets, much like they do in Savannah. “We first started working in Inman Park in March,” says Tyler Corbin, who worked as an assistant location staffer on Cape Fear. “Our first day of filming was on April 30. Then our last day of filming was in the middle of October. We were there for every single episode and the moss stayed up the whole time.”
While they initially only had plans to film the Bowden and Cady homes in Inman Park, as production progressed, Corbin says they searched for more and more locations in the neighborhood to make sure shooting ran as smoothly as possible. Thankfully, everyone they worked with in the neighborhood was “very nice and really responsive,” with Corbin adding, “We put a lot of energy into making sure that everyone was happy and taken care of. We spoke to everyone and would continue to keep in contact. Our main goal throughout the whole production was to make sure that the city was happy, so they could approve our permits, and there wouldn’t be any delays.”
While they shot exteriors of homes in the neighborhood, the interiors were filmed on stage at Assembly Studios. “The production and set designers toured the homes and then created new interiors at Assembly. What they did was incredible,” Corbin says. “We even gave the homeowners a little tour of the Assembly interiors so they could see how different it was.”
Other Atlanta locations used for Cape Fear included The High Museum, which stood in as the interior for a Savannah museum with exteriors they shot during one of their rare days filming in the coastal city. They also filmed in a law office in Druid Hills and at the beloved Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Little Five Points. “Our crew put in so much work to really make the location look special at the Wrecking Bar,” says Corbin. “They changed the whole wallpaper, gave it this rich navy paint, and put gold embossing on it.”
Production also moved all the way up to Lake Allatoona, just over 40 minutes northwest of Atlanta, for the later episodes. The filming there was so extensive that an entirely new location manager and crew was required, because of its distance from downtown Atlanta. “That allowed us to prep our locations, otherwise it would have been impossible for people to make the drive up there and keep the schedule on time,” Corbin says.
Lake Allatoona was turned into the titular river where the story’s suspenseful and brutal climax unfolds. Previous incarnations of Cape Fear handled these sequences with such aplomb that the series will have to create something truly captivating to eclipse them.
But considering the talent who made the latest adaptation, and the effort put into its production, it has all the ingredients to eventually be regarded as its own classic take on Cape Fear’s timeless tale of revenge, justice, and morality.
Cape Fear premiered on Apple TV on June 5.
