Grimm: Below the Surface–New insider’s guide goes behind the scenes of the hit NBC series

Last week’s episode of Grimm may have been one of the best on TV this year, bringing together threads formed since the beginning of the show.  The result proved the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and pitted the “good” guys together with the “bad” guys against the “even worse” guys.  The most unlikely of pairings occurred in nearly every scene.  It was brilliant TV, and we can likely expect even more fun on this Friday’s episode.

Previously we reviewed The Official Companion to Supernatural Season Seven, a well-formatted look-back for fans of the series, with previous editions released annually.  The Official Companion serves as both a souvenir book and behind the scenes look at the creators of the show.  Many series have released works that were similar.  Doctor Who has done this in magazine form, for example.  Movies like The Hobbit released different variations of behind the scenes books, with different price points and trade or hardbound editions targeted at different audiences.  The first behind the scenes look at NBC’s hit TV series Grimm is now at bookstores, and it follows a format similar to the Official Companion concept Supernatural uses, except it contains glossy, full color images, which will be a plus for diehard fans of the show.

Looking back from the end of Season Two of NBC’s hit series, Grimm: Below the Surface–The Insider’s Guide to the Show provides plenty of information not available elsewhere.  It includes stories and interviews from the series executive producers and showrunner, each of the actors playing main characters (Nick, Monroe, Juliette, Hank, Rosalee, Renard, Adalind, and Sergeant Wu), writers, production designers, the make-up and special effects team, casting, the stunt team, and the props and costume creators.

The Insider’s Guide also includes a recap of Seasons One and Two, and includes excerpts from Aunt Marie’s Casebook to supplement your knowledge from Aunt Marie’s Book of Lore (reviewed previously here at borg.com) on the Grimm and Wesen, including the wolfen Blutbad, the ear-splitting Murcielago, the fiery Damonfeuer, the goat-like Ziegevolk, the ferocious Schakal, the lionking Lowen, the bee-like Mellifers, the deadly Hexenbiests, the organ-stealing Geier, the noble Steinadlers, the bear-like Jagerbar, and the arachnid Spinnetod.

You’ll find everything from the reason for Bree Turner’s brief absence from the show, to actors’ and creators’ personal favorite episodes and scenes, to why Silas Weir Mitchell won’t watch the series, and Russell Hornsby’s take on who knows the most backstory of the many props in each scene.

The trade edition design of the book and photo quality should serve as a guide for other series to copy.  Everyone should be so lucky to have their favorite shows recounted as in this volume.

Grimm: Below the Surface–The Insider’s Guide to the Show is in bookstores everywhere and available here from Amazon.com.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com