More From Joshua Harto: "It's a difficult job"

In Tuesday’s “Herald-Dispatch,” you saw my story about Huntington native, Joshua Harto, who co-created the TNT drama, “Memphis Beat,” with his wife, Liz W. Garcia.

But Harto shared more with me about the creation of the show…

As writers and executive producers, Harto and his wife put in long hours to make sure everything goes right. “You’re on set every day, all day long,” Harto said. “You have your hands in everything. It’s a difficult job. The sort that requires a lot of attention to detail.”

But Harto has enjoyed the experience—especially since he gets to share it with his wife. “It’s wonderful. You have to fight a lot of battles to achieve your goals. It’s nice to have somebody on your side,” he said. “I can’t imagine doing this any other way.”

The two met when Harto appeared on an episode of “Cold Case,” where Garcia was a writer. “[‘Beat’] was just an idea we had over dinner one night,” Harto said. “It’s romantic to create something out of nothing together.”

Harto and Garcia really wanted to make a cop show that was more like “Hill Street Blues” and less like “CSI.” “We wanted it to be more about character. And we really wanted a special place to locate it,” Harto said.

That special place turned out to be Memphis. “It’s a city with two faces,” Harto said. “It has a quirky side, but it also has a dark, haunted side. It’s the perfect place to set the show.”

In addition to Jason Lee, the cast boasts Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress, Alfre Woodard. How did Harto get such big names in front of the camera? “We promised the actors that this wouldn’t be a normal cop show. The same thing every week gets boring,” Harto said. “We promised new and exciting things every week. Now we have an obligation to make that the case.”

The season finale of “Memphis Beat” airs Tuesday, August 24th at 10 p.m. on TNT…

Photo Credit: TNT