Composer John Paesano says he approached The Boroughs like a mid-budget genre film scoring in the ’80s and ’90s—using script notes, footage markers, and suites—so the music would feel colorful, vibrant, and instantly cinematic.
The Boroughs doesn’t sound like it’s trying to reinvent sci-fi thriller music—it sounds like it’s trying to get back to it.
In a conversation at IndieWire’s Craft Roundtables. composer John Paesano talked about how the series. set in a retirement community. carries the spirit of mid-budget genre films from the ’80s and ’90s. And when it came to the score, he didn’t treat that as a vibe to imitate. He treated it as a process to rebuild.
Paesano said he grew up on the kind of blockbuster work associated with James Horner and James Newton Howard. and that the show’s team “had this idea that we wanted this show to be in that world.” From there. he leaned into an approach that he described as something composers used mostly in the ’90s: writing music through script notes. aligning it with the beats.
He explained that composers at the time would read the script. review footage. and mark a manuscript—pinpointing moments where they wanted music to hit. “I wanted to adopt that process while writing the score as well,” Paesano said. “So, we did a lot of sketches, a lot of suites, a lot of big broad ideas.”.
Those suites weren’t just a compositional step. Paesano said they helped lock in what audiences would eventually hear, and they also served the bigger goal the creative team was chasing: capturing the massive, vibrant musical cues typical of the films they wanted to emulate.
Paesano’s target wasn’t subtle. “The goal for me with all these suites is I want the directors and producers and people involved to be able to shut their eyes. listen to the music. and kind of see the show or movie. ” he said. He pointed to why those older scores feel so alive—often written with imagination. and not forced to account for dialogue or visual effects in the same way modern scoring can be.
At the composer roundtable, Paesano wasn’t speaking alone. The event brought together composers from major shows of the past year. including Jeff Russo. Brenton Vivian. Kris Bowers & Michael Dean Parsons. Amanda Jones. and Mac Quayle. Russo was there as the “Alien Earth” composer. Vivian as the composer of “The Madison. ” Bowers and Parsons for “Spider-Noir. ” Jones for “Murderbot. ” and Quayle for “Monster: The Ed Gein Story.” They discussed how they created scores designed to match what was on screen.
IndieWire’s TV Craft Roundtables is now streaming on @PBSSoCal and the PBS App as well as IndieWire.com and the outlet’s social channels.
The Boroughs John Paesano composer interview Craft Roundtables IndieWire sci-fi thriller retirement community James Horner James Newton Howard scoring techniques suites
So it’s like a retirement home but with Alien music? lol
I don’t even watch the show but the title made it sound like they’re trying to copy the 80s vibe. Like okay but does it actually feel modern or just old music they slapped on? Also “shut their eyes and see the show” is kinda dramatic.
Wait is this about The Boroughs or like the composer writing for neighborhoods? I’m confused. Retirement community sci-fi thriller… so is it about space or old folks? Either way, I guess the suites thing makes sense, but I thought modern scores already do that script-note marking. Sounds like they reinvented planning meetings.
Honestly I love when composers talk about process. The whole “mid-budget genre film” comparison is pretty on point though, like that big sweeping stuff from Horner/Newton Howard. If they can get that ‘alive’ feeling without worrying about every little FX cue like today, then maybe it’ll actually slap. Also IndieWire hosting a roundtable with all those names… I can’t keep track but it’s cool to see them all in one place.