Mare Sheehan isn’t like other detectives.
At least not other detectives often seen on television.
“Mare is the opposite of pulled together,” Winslet says.
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“She’s falling apart.
And that’s it.”
She understands that it’s a long shot, and she goes home to her family.
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“This is a subversion of the Luthers and the Sherlocks,” says creator Brad Ingelsby.
“This is a woman who doesn’t have any superpowers at all.”
She’s also a woman who doesn’t have time for any BS.
“She’s a strange, lovable grump,” director Craig Zobel says of Mare.
“I hadn’t seen a recent version of that, especially not a female version of it.”
It’s a role that doesn’t inherently scream Kate Winslet.
The spray cheese, however, was much more fun to squeeze the trigger on.
“I never expected Kate to want to do it,” says Ingelsby.
“Mare is a tough person to like at times, and it’s a tricky character to play.
Winslet spent months with local Pennsylvania police, even loosely modeling Mare after a real-life sergeant detective she met.
One thing that didn’t make the cut?
One of Hollywood’s favorite crime-solving devices proved too far-fetched for the local cops.
“It’s an arranged marriage,” Ingelsby says of their dynamic.
So they bring in a hired gun.”
Naturally, the two butt heads at first, but according to Ingelsby, Colin eventually wins Mare over.
(As does Richard, a local creative-writing professor played by Winslet’sMildred PiercecostarGuy Pearce.)
But there isn’t just one question at the center of the show.
Mare herself is keeping a secret or two from the town that knows her so well.
“She’s in an emotional crisis,” says Winslet.
“It does make the atmosphere of the story quite unique,” says Winslet.
“you’re able to’t just call it a whodunit.
It isn’t about that.
And, of course, it’s at least a little about spray cheese.
Mare of Easttownpremieres Sunday, April 18 on HBO.
