The Spool / Podcasts
Marco Beltrami and Miles Hankins on the psychedelia of Nine Perfect Strangers
On Right on Cue, Editor-in-Chief Clint Worthington talks to film, TV, and video game composers about the origins and nuances of their latest works, along with commentaries on the score’s most important tracks. What lengths would you traverse to let go of your traumas? That’s one of many premises swimming around in the hazy ether ... Marco Beltrami and Miles Hankins on the psychedelia of Nine Perfect Strangers

On Right on Cue, Editor-in-Chief Clint Worthington talks to film, TV, and video game composers about the origins and nuances of their latest works, along with commentaries on the score’s most important tracks.

What lengths would you traverse to let go of your traumas? That’s one of many premises swimming around in the hazy ether of Hulu’s latest limited series Nine Perfect Strangers. Created by David E. Kelley and based on the book by Liane Moriarty, the series follows nine people drawn for one reason or another to a mysterious wellness center called Tranquillum, led by an equally mercurial resort director plated by Nicole Kidman.

Some of them are reeling from the suicide of a family member, like the Marconis, including Michael Shannon‘s Napoleon; others, like Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg’s wealthy influencer couple, bristle against marital problems neither of them can articulate. But as they all gravitate toward one another at this private retreat, they learn to surrender themselves to the ministrations of Tranquillum’s all-too-perfect staff… even as they become lab rats in an experiment they can’t possibly see coming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvqujH6boEI&ab_channel=Hulu

Swirling around the show’s star-studded cast, which also includes Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Luke Evans, and more, is the score by Oscar-nominated composer Marco Beltrami (3:10 to Yuma, The Hurt Locker), alongside Emmy-nominated composer Miles Hankins (Being Serena). The two have worked together on several projects over the years, among them several projects by Nine Perfect Strangers director Jonathan Levine.

Together, we chat about the origins of their collaboration, what draws them to working with Levine and trying to find the sound of the mysterious Tranquillum and the diverse characters that inhabit it.

You can find Marco Beltrami and Miles Hankins at their official websites.

Nine Perfect Strangers is currently streaming new episodes Wednesdays on Hulu. You can also listen to the score for Nine Perfect Strangers on your preferred music streaming service courtesy of Endeavor Content.