MRH: With Durham County’s scripts, a lot of time is spent developing characters and stories far in advance. Is that a huge advantage to you, in terms of scoring material that isn’t vague or unresolved?

PC: Yeah, I think it is… Adrienne is extremely clear as to what’s going on. A trick that I actually learned – I guess this is a fairly common thing among composing – but depending on how early I get the [edited shows], you can usually start composing later on in the season.

I remember Tom once telling me you start at the end and then work backwards, and I’ve read that in a few places. The idea is that if there’s some huge, cataclysmic event that happens later on in an episode or later on in a season, once you score that, you can take little motifs and elements of that and start using that earlier to foreshadow.

The listener may not jump up and go ‘Hey, I know exactly what this composer did!’ but on a subconscious level it’ll be ‘Oh, I’ve heard this before – This is the big climax that we’ve been leading to.’ It does definitely help.

MRH: And finally, how is Season 3 different for you, compared to Season 2, in terms of themes or the overall musical tone?

PC:  It definitely changed a little bit in that I think I grew a little bit in this one.

The second season was very much based on a palette that Tom had established in the first season… There were a lot of motifs [and sound palettes] that were referencing first, but the vibe of the show is starting to change in the third season.

We’ve all sort of grown comfortable with what I’ve done in the second season, so I could start taking it to the next level a little bit, but the third season I would actually say is a little more melodic. I definitely started bringing in more orchestral elements; it’s a little more grand at times but still intimate – at least in the first few episodes, because by the end it gets pretty crazy.

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An interview with Durham County's creative team of Adrienne Mitchell and Janis Lundman.