Z: The Beginning of Everything Trivia | 25 facts about the series

«Z: The Beginning of Everything» is an American period drama TV series created by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin for Amazon Studios

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1. Z: The Beginning of Everything is an American period drama TV series.
2. It was created by Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin for Amazon Studios.
3. It debuted on November 5, 2015.
4. It is based on Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler.
5. The series presents a fictionalized version of the life of American socialite and writer Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald (Christina Ricci) in the 1920s.
6. The first season covers her marriage to the author F. Scott Fitzgerald – who had yet to become famous for his work – and the subsequent marital tensions that arose from their lifestyle full of partying and alcohol.
7. The first season was released on January 27, 2017.
8. On April 27, 2017 it was revealed that Amazon had ordered a second season.
9. It was then announced on September 7, 2017, that Amazon had rescinded the renewal, cancelling the show after one season
10. Christina Ricci created the series after reading Therese Anne Fowler’s novel.
11. However, most of Fowler’s novel was jettisoned by series writers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin who instead took a wide latitude when adapting the source material.
12. The series creators took a great deal of fictional license when depicting the lives of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald as well as the raucous Jazz Age itself.
13. Many of the songs heard were either written or performed a decade later in the 1930s.
14. Many actresses wear brassieres at a time when few women did so.
15. A number of key relationship details, such as Scott sending Zelda his mother’s ring after his book “This Side of Paradise” was accepted, are misrepresented for dramatic purposes.
16. Although purportedly based on the book Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler, the series features very little dialogue and scenes from the book.
17. Christina Ricci revealed in 2020 that the show was canceled when one of the show’s executives was accused of sexual harassment, which prompted Amazon to cancel all projects they were involved with.
18. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the decision to cut bait on the period drama comes as the streaming service looks to reduce spending on original programming in 2018
19. . A writers’ room had previously been opened for Season 2, with a reported $7 million already spent on preproduction.
20. The series was criticized for the ages of the lead actors in comparison to their historical counterparts.
21. A 36-year-old David Hoflin portrayed 21-year-old F. Scott Fitzgerald. For her role as 18-year-old Zelda Fitzgerald, 35-year-old Christina Ricci’s features had to be digitally altered to make her appear more like a teenager.
22. Although she appeared nude in Prozac Nation (2001) with her breasts and pubic hair visible, Christina Ricci stated in an interview that she performed her first full-frontal scene in this series
23. However, she clarified that she wasn’t fully nude because she wore a merkin which is a pubic wig. She added that nudity didn’t bother her at all at this point in her career: “I’ve done a lot of nude scenes in my life and I feel like at this point, it’s no secret what I look like naked. You can Google me. So I don’t really freak out that much about it.”
24. In the first episode, the piece of stringed music that is being played at the country club while Scott dances with Zelda, and during the end titles, is “Serenade for Strings (Op. 22)” by Antonin Dvorak. Ironically, Zelda Fitzgerald famously detested classical music and preferred contemporary jazz records.
25. Christina Ricci starred in the series Pan Am (2011). In episode 6, while interviewing for a flight attendant, she states she had her heart broken twice, once by a boy named Chip, and the other by F. Scott Fitzgerald.