First Look: New Amazon Featurette Explores Retro Style And Easter Eggs Of Nazi-Busting ‘Hunters’

Shalom, Hunters and Hunter-ettes!

Just as the Marvel Cinematic Universe likes to include little nods to the audience in its superhero films, the comic book-inspired world of Hunters also likes to pack in the Easter eggs—both big and small. In an exclusive new featurette released by Amazon, fans can go behind the meticulous making of the sweeping series about a covert hit squad of “Jew-per” heroes tracking Nazis in 1970s New York.

“Beyond the writing, from the page to the screen, everything tells a story. From the costumes, to the set design, to makeup. Everyone is trying to inject story into all of those elements,” creator/co-showrunner David Weil says in the bite-sized awards season documentary. “I think for viewers today, who are so perceptive, we try to inject … Easter eggs, these little clues and mysteries and hints.”

“All of the different departments that we have … across the board, have gone above and beyond to push the envelope on the elements that we’re incorporating,” adds Nikki Toscano, Weil’s fellow co-showrunner.

Forbes Entertainment is proud to debut the featurette below. Nu? Are you watching it yet?

As you can see, the story of Nazi war criminals and the Holocaust survivors who hunt them down becomes a multi-layered maze of intrigue thanks to subtle elements like a swastika pattern hidden in the wallpaper of a Florida condo or a Lonny Flash movie poster hanging in the periphery of Jonah Heidelbaum’s bedroom. Each frame becomes a work of art unto itself, waiting to be decoded by an enterprising viewer.

Weil adds: “The actors may not know exactly why that poster is there or why that little tchotchke is there, but that will actually hint at secrets about our own characters [or] plot points that may come later in the season … If you look closely, you can actually know the entire trajectory of where this story will go.”

What else can I say, but mazel tov and a job incredibly well done.

The lion’s share (or “Lonny’s share,” I should say) of the credit rests with the collection of department head likes Curt Beech (production designer), John Dunn (costumer designer), Anita Lausevic (hairstylist), and Arielle Toelke (makeup artist).

Inter-departmental coordination (like Beech and Dunn’s color code), an understanding of the period (having worked on The Deuce, Lausevic knows about various the hair styles of the ‘70s), and a deep reverence for the Shoah (Toelke’s in-depth research on concentration camp tattoos) were key to evoking a world that both felt authentic and carried weight.

A dioramic recreation of the Carter era looks nice, but ultimately rings hollow if you don’t have anything to say with it. Hunters is a prime (pun not intended) example of how one uses use the decade of bellbottoms and leisure suits correctly. For instance, the titular group of vigilantes feels like a thematic echo of President Carter’s famous “Crisis of Confidence” speech.

The address was meant to address the political and global upheavals of the 1960s and early-to-mid ‘70s, but its intention fits nicely into the series’ exploration of a political system that happily harbored Nazis after the war under Operation Paperclip and refused to own up to it.

Ruth Heidelbaum (Jeannie Berlin) and Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) suffer a true crisis of confidence when they realize that their government not only gave sanctuary to unrepentant murderers, but is actively making sure that said killers stay comfortable and hidden. Realizing that the system is broken beyond repair, the two survivors set out to bring their own brand of vigilante justice to the perpetrators of Hitler’s Third Reich. In the process, however, they risk becoming just as cruel and vicious as the guilty people on their list. The show is, at its core, a cautionary tale about the cathartic thrill of revenge and the eventual price that must always be paid for it.

The complete first season of Hunters is currently streaming on Prime Video. If you’ve already binged all 10 episodes, check out Mr. Weil’s breakdown of the finale.