Development In June 1998, it was announced that
20th Century Fox had acquired film rights to
I Know This Much Is True by
Wally Lamb, with Clinica Estetico producing, and
Jonathan Demme potentially directing. In July 2000, it was announced
Matt Damon would star in the film, with
Jim Sheridan directing from a screenplay by
Richard Friedenberg. In July 2004, it was announced
Gina Prince-Bythewood would direct and re-write the film. The film rights expired and reverted to Lamb, who thought the novel would be better adapted into a miniseries rather than a film. Being a fan of
Mark Ruffalo's work, Lamb suggested Ruffalo should play the role of the twins. Ruffalo was sent the book and wrote an e-mail to Lamb confessing his love for the novel, stating he definitely wanted to be involved. Ruffalo had been interested in working with
Derek Cianfrance, and reached out to see if Cianfrance would be interested in directing and writing the series. Lamb told Cianfrance and Ruffalo to make the material their own, and did not ask to see the scripts. In October 2017, it was announced
HBO would produce and distribute the series, with Ruffalo starring and executive producing, Cianfrance directing, writing and executive-producing alongside Lamb, with
FilmNation Entertainment producing the series. In October 2018, the series was greenlit. Ruffalo first shot all of his scenes as Dominick, requiring him to lose . After finishing his scenes as Dominick, Ruffalo took a six-week break to gain and then shoot his scenes as Thomas. Gabe Fazio worked as a stand-in for both Dominick and Thomas. He is the same height as Ruffalo and lost 30 lb to play Dominick when Ruffalo shot his scenes as Thomas. Production concluded in October 2019.
Casting In April 2019,
Melissa Leo,
Rosie O'Donnell,
Archie Panjabi,
Imogen Poots,
Juliette Lewis and
Kathryn Hahn joined the cast of the series. In November 2019, it was announced
Aisling Franciosi, John Procaccino,
Rob Huebel,
Philip Ettinger and
Michael Greyeyes had joined the cast of the series. The members of the Psychiatric Security Review Board in Episode 4 are played by some local officials in
Dutchess County, New York, where most of the series was filmed:
State Senator Sue Serino, sheriff Butch Anderson, and his wife Danielle, president of the
Mid-Hudson Civic Center in
Poughkeepsie.
Filming Principal photography began in April 2019, in New York's
Hudson Valley. On May 9, 2019, a fire erupted on the set of the series at a used car dealership in
Ellenville. The building, film equipment and 20 vintage cars were destroyed. There were no injuries but it put filming on hold.
Locations Poughkeepsie was used for many of the scenes set in Three Rivers, with the
Mid-Hudson Bridge visible in the background of the cityscape in most
establishing shots. The Birdsey family home is at the corner of Delafield and Hoffman streets. The
Vassar College campus is used for scenes set at the
University of Connecticut, and Dr. Patel's office is in a strip mall on
U.S. Route 9 south of the city. A flashback scene in a later episode required covering Mount Carmel Avenue with dirt to recreate a pre-automotive era. The casino in the closing scenes of the series is the new patient pavilion at
Vassar Brothers Hospital, still under construction while it was used in the production. ==Reception==