This past winter, an Apple TV+ film crew from Alena Smith’s compelling historical comedy “Dickinson” turned the Jay Meadow into a Civil War battlefield. It was our privilege to host members of the crew and cast especially given the show’s focus on inclusion and social justice. The show, which stars Academy Award nominee Hailee Steinfeld as the poet Emily Dickinson, spent more than two months filming around the Jay Estate. Dickinson’s third and final season is streaming now on Apple TV+. The storyline details the relationship between Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, an abolitionist who commanded the first Union regiment of Black soldiers and who ultimately became the co-editor of Dickinson’s early poetry collections. Learn more about the series here in this recent NY Times article.
Read about the real-life history here – and stay tuned for JHC’s own upcoming program about the true story behind the fictional portrayal.
PLUS, read more about how the crew transformed the Jay Estate in this new article by Mary Andriotis in House Beautiful magazine.
Director Silas Howard and actor Chinaza Uche on the veranda of the Jay Mansion – photo credit Dickinson and Apple TV+