I had the pleasure of working with Paris Barclay on two of my episodes of The Shield, "Scar Tissue" and "Grave". I had been a fan of his work on NYPD Blue and West Wing. I found him to be an extraordinarily gifted director and a pretty great human being. He was on my short list of directors when SOA got picked up to series. After his thoughtful and deft execution of "Balm" last season, I approached Paris about taking a permanent position on Sons. I wanted him to be my directing producer, a role that the late, great Scott Brazil handled on The Shield. Most shows have directing producers. They are essentially the director-in-residence. He or she directs a lion's share of the episodes, oversees production and acts as a interface between the writers and the cast and crew. I never hired anyone else because there was no one other than Paris I trusted handling the position. Paris was intrigued by the offer. He loves the show, loves the world and bonded with the cast and crew. But ultimately, Paris was more committed to In Treatment, a show he helped launch as a directing producer.
I'm not a quitter. We approached Paris again a few months back and I am happy to say that he has decided to leave the couch and jump on a Harley. Mr. Barclay will join us for season four of Sons of Anarchy.
I want to thank my partners at FX, Fox 21 and 20th for making this happen.
