Show runner for The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco
A show that needs to be watched on Brit Box is “The Bletchley Circle” and its sequel “The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco,” a television mystery drama series, set in the 1950s, about four women who had worked as British and American code breakers. Dissatisfied with their post-World War II lives and the way law enforcement fails to investigate complex crimes properly, the women work together to investigate, using their wartime skills to solve the crimes.
The women protagonists are not seen as superheroes. They are realistic and believable characters who at times appear over their heads yet are very courageous and determined in finding justice. It’s enjoyable to see how these intelligent women think, interact with, and support each other.
Elise Cooper: How did Alan Turing play a role in the code breaking for the allies?
Michael MacLennan: The spin-off was obviously inspired by the original ‘The Bletchley Circle’, which was, of course, inspired by the historical fact of the code cracking done by women. Alan Turing was the great genius behind so much of it. Turing went on to join the Government Code and Cypher School, and, at the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, while working at Bletchley Circle, Turing and others designed a code-breaking machine known as the Bombe. He also devised the first systematic method for breaking messages encrypted by the sophisticated German cipher machine. But much of that actual deciphering work was then done by women.
EC: It seems the TV series “The Bletchley Circle” and the sequel “The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco” wanted to highlight what happened to women after WWII. Correct?
MM: On both sides of the Atlantic, one of the byproducts of World War II and the decryption projects was that in the process of serving, many women discovered that they were, to put it bluntly, brilliant. Yet, as happened to all women after the war, they were basically told to go back into their kitchens, clean their homes, and raise their children. But having had a taste of meaningful work, and having found broader community beyond their small pre-war lives, meant for a difficult adjustment. We were interested in creating mysteries that drew on those rekindled talents.
EC: The show also showed women empowerment and how they banded together?
MM: One of the gifts of the war was that women were, of course, pulled into the workplace, in a way that had never been seen before. A show that I did earlier, called “Bomb Girls,” takes place during the war. I remember interviewing an elderly woman who’d worked in those munitions factories, who told me, ‘You know, truth be told, those were the best years of my life.’ On one level these women were in a tough fight with Hitler — but they were also part of newfound community, where they were able to enjoy a sense of freedom.
EC: How did you incorporate the codes and the mysteries?
MM: We wanted to find mysteries that required a recognition of patterns on every level, and situations where these women were underestimated, essentially hidden in plain sight, as that was true to the time. When ideas for certain mysteries came first, we’d then dig in to the different ways that cryptology, code-making, pattern-recognition were present, often drawing on historical ciphers, and pulling these many threads into our mysteries. Which always felt apt because of course a mystery is itself a code to be cracked.
EC: How did the 1950s period play a role?
MM: The 50s were a time retrograde politics and culture — an attempt to put the genie back in the bottle. At the same time for our two British characters, Jean and Millie, leaving post-war London for San Francisco it felt like they’d arrived in a kind of promised land. So, we’re meeting these women at a time when there’s real potent tension between the old and the new, when there’s space for these four women to live, in their differing ways, unconventional lives. For us that was both a perfect encapsulation of the period, and a trenchant theme for us all today.
EC: How did you get the accuracy?
MM: We did a lot of research just in terms of what was going on in that period of history, what was going on for women at that time, and how those sort of early proto-feminist ideas were developing. We were particularly interested in this idea that the war cracked open so many social strictures that had prevented women of different races and classes from talking to, befriending, and loving one another. And so, while we’re primarily interested in thrilling, entertaining mysteries, we also loved delving into those timely themes.
EC: What would you say are the skills of these women characters?
MM: During the war, most of the code-crackers got their jobs after simply answering newspaper ads that asked: ‘Do you like puzzles?’ ‘Do you like crosswords?’ And their first job interviews were simply them sitting down to solve puzzles. Those that excelled were singled out and trained, in many cases for a long time before they ever even got enough security clearance to know the true big puzzle they were hired to solve: namely the enemy’s various ciphers, and in particular, the German’s elusive Enigma Code.
EC: Would you ever make a sequel?
MM: Oh gosh we have another full season already written and ready to roll if there’s financing out there. Like the show’s many fans, I’d love to see more of Jean, Millie, Iris and Hailey!
THANK YOU!!
