'Dark Matter' in Chicago: Sci-fi thriller imagines parallel versions of the city
Characters Leighton Vance (Dayo Okeniyi, left) and Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) stand on the shore of Lake Michigan after emerging from a box that transports them to alternate realities in “Dark Matter.”
Apple TV+
In the new Apple TV+ show “Dark Matter,” viewers will see a Chicago that is both fantastical and familiar.
They will recognize the L train whizzing by, the Logan Theatre sign glowing red at night, and the city skyline stretching across their TV screens.
But they will also see an apocalyptic version of the city, featuring ash-covered abandoned cars and crumbling skyscrapers. There’s also a shot of the city nearly buried under snow — and not in the typical way Chicagoans are used to — with a completely frozen-over Lake Michigan.
This dichotomy is present because the show deals in alternate realities. Premiering on May 8, the nine-episode series follows the story of physics professor Jason Dessen, portrayed by Joel Edgerton, who is abducted on the streets of Chicago and transported to a different version of his life. As he navigates more parallel universes and faces off against a different form of himself, he is determined to get back to his original life with his wife, Daniela, and their son.
Based on the 2016 New York Times bestselling novel, “Dark Matter” is not only a science fiction thriller and love story, but a “love letter to Chicago,” according to author Blake Crouch, who lives in Colorado.
“I was in Chicago when I broke the idea for the book,” said Crouch, who is also the showrunner and an executive producer for the TV adaptation. “I was sitting at the bar in Longman & Eagle in Logan Square with my pal, [Chicago author] Marcus Sakey, and we were brainstorming what our next novels might be. Out of that conversation, ‘Dark Matter’ just crystallized in my head."
After setting his previous “Wayward Pines Trilogy” of books in the mountains of Idaho, Crouch said he wanted “Dark Matter” to take place in an urban setting. One of his favorite cities in the world, Chicago was the right fit, he said.
Filmed entirely in the Windy City and surrounding areas, “Dark Matter” opens with Jason Dessen going about his everyday life. Chicago viewers will recognize shots of Logan Square, where he lives, but not his place of employmentL the fictional Lakemont College. They will recognize the name of Roscoe Village bar The Village Tap, but little else about the watering hole, as scenes were actually shot in Damen Tavern.
“It was super special to get to shoot at Millennium Park,” Crouch added. “We shut down Lake Shore Drive one Sunday morning. We shot at the beautiful reading room at the University of Chicago, which was one of the coolest, most visually spectacular places. We shot in an old abandoned hospital in Blue Island. There's so many riches visually in Chicago that are really untouched by film, so you get to shoot the city in a way that feels really fresh.”
Jason Dessen’s ability to explore alternate realities is explained by a quantum mechanics concept called “superposition,” which describes the ability to be in multiple states at the same time.
“The scientific consultant that worked on ‘Dark Matter’ talked a lot about what it would take to do this, and if it is something that's possible,” Crouch said. “We don't have the technology right now, but there are certain breakthroughs that, should those happen, it's possible.”
In the TV show, the characters achieve superposition by entering a giant box, situated in an industrial facility. The production team landed on the Robbins Community Power plant in Illinois as the filming location after months of searching.
And through stunning visual effects work, viewers will see the box materialize on the shore of Lake Michigan and even on top of the body of water itself.
Jennifer Connelly, who plays Daniela, said she found The scientific underpinnings of "Dark Matter" intriguing.
“I loved physics in high school, and when I first went to college, I was super excited about physics and even thought, ‘Maybe I'll become a physics major,' " she said. "[But] I found calculus kind of tricky. It was a stumbling block for me.”
The “Snowpiercer” and "A Beautiful Mind" actor said she was impressed by the TV show's execution of a grand idea.
"The conceit is fantastical in itself, but it's [just] this guy who's going to near worlds," she said. "For some of them, it's just only the tiniest bit off in this eerie and unsettling way. I thought that was a fun and smart way to tell a multiverse story.”
But her character is in the dark about what is really going on with her husband.
“She's just in this very domestic world, dealing with her husband who's suddenly behaving really differently," Connelly explained. "And at first, frankly, she kinda likes it, and then she's like, ‘Something feels awry.’ ”
At the core of the show is the relatable idea of wondering, "What if?," according to executive producer Matt Tolmach.
“If you could, would you change anything about your life, or is the point of life to love the life that you have and the people that you're in it with?" Tolmach said. "It's about really trying to identify who you are by virtue of who you share space with in the world.”