The Boroughs’s Clarke Peters Wants Art to Keep Seeking Answers (and Mushrooms)

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Spoilers follow for all eight episodes of The Boroughs, which premiered on Netflix on May 21. 

Clarke Peters often refers to his character, Art Daniels, in the third person when discussing the role. Art is a complex figure – once a radical, now grappling with drugs and searching for spiritual meaning – and this habit reveals how deeply Peters connected with him. Initially, Peters declined the part in The Boroughs after hearing it compared to Stranger Things. He didn’t want to spend years fighting monsters. However, as he read the scripts, he became intrigued by Art’s perspective and his journey into understanding the mysteries of life, something Peters himself could relate to. He felt he could bring authenticity to the character’s dialogue and experiences. The moment he met a crow on set, he knew he was fully committed. He joked that he wouldn’t even mind chasing monsters for the rest of his life.

Clarke Peters is a veteran actor with a nearly 50-year career in film and television, known for his memorable work with directors like David Simon (on shows such as The Wire and Treme) and Spike Lee (Red Hook Summer and Da 5 Bloods). He excels at portraying characters who are strong-willed, inquisitive, and a bit mischievous, and he brings those qualities to his role as Art, a charming, intellectual philosopher who cultivates his own marijuana and mushrooms and offers advice to his friends. However, Art’s home life is strained by distance from his wife, Judy (Alfre Woodard), who is secretly having an affair with their neighbor, Jack (Bill Pullman), and their complicated relationship forms a central storyline throughout the season. Adding to the mystery, Art begins experiencing strange occurrences: witnessing a mass suicide of crows, briefly regaining his youth after eating a peach, and catching unsettling glimpses of Anneliese Shaw (Alice Kremelberg), the powerful and unsettling owner of their community.

For decades, the Shaw family has secretly held a creature named Mother (Nancy Daly) captive. They allow her offspring to consume the brain fluid of elderly residents, which unnaturally extends the creatures’ lifespans. When Art and his friends, including newcomer Sam (Alfred Molina), discover what the Shaws are doing, they unite to rescue Mother and stop the family. While The Boroughs hasn’t been picked up for another season yet, creator Peters says the information Art learned about the crows and the peach tree could be important if it’s renewed. He hints at a mysterious visual clue from the final episode, saying, “There was a little glitch as Alfie was looking at something. I’d like to know where that little glitch is going to lead us,” but remains tight-lipped due to non-disclosure agreements.

I deeply connected with Art’s constant questioning of the world because I’ve always been the same way. My mother told me I was a relentlessly curious child, always needing explanations and getting upset when I didn’t receive them. That inquisitiveness continued through my teenage years and as I observed what was happening within the Black community – a community I prefer to define as all people of color in America, recognizing that the term ‘African American’ overlooks those who were here originally. This drive to understand is still central to who I am. I believe it’s also what draws Art to his exploration of things like mushrooms, and why he seems ready to embrace the journey ahead. It feels like this journey might finally provide answers to questions Clark has carried for over seventy years.

Art has a crow companion named Brooksy, and I had the chance to work with two crows, both named Brooksy. One was skilled at fetching things, while the other enjoyed flying close to people. The experience really made me consider getting a bird as a pet. Initially, I was a little cautious – that beak looks intimidating! – and I underestimated just how intelligent they were. I worried about them landing on me or using their claws. Thankfully, their trainer knew exactly what they were capable of. Working with animals, like these crows, is incredibly satisfying for both Art and me. We’ve become so disconnected from nature, but birds are all around us, and we rarely truly interact with them – we might toss them crumbs or shoo them away. Even a short 20-minute interaction with these crows has stayed with me. There’s just something special about crows that I really appreciate.

Art presents different sides of himself to different people – one to Judy, and another to Brooksy, with whom he openly shares his personal thoughts and feelings. This is something many of us experience. We all have a part of ourselves that simply goes through life, and another part that is actively aware of being alive. You naturally connect with people differently depending on whether they seem to be truly self-aware. For example, those who practice mindfulness or connect with nature often feel different to be around. In Art’s case, his wife has always been there for him, but he hasn’t fully connected with her inner world. He’s realized she’s content simply experiencing life without deep self-reflection, and this may have contributed to her affair – a part of her wasn’t being fulfilled. We all have multiple relationships that differ in nature – our connection with our children is different from our relationship with a partner, which is different from our relationship with our parents. We are complex individuals, and the author, Clark, explores this complexity when portraying Art and trying to understand his motivations.

Halfway through their journey, Art discovers a peach tree growing inside an old, abandoned mine. When he touches a peach, it miraculously heals a cut on his hand, so he decides to take a bigger bite. I immediately questioned his decision – finding a random tree hidden in a mine and just eating the fruit seemed like a bad idea! I was thinking, after everything he’d been through, he wouldn’t just put it in his mouth without thinking, and I voiced my concern.

The movie then shows a fun series of scenes where Art demonstrates all the things he can do after his transformation. We see him stopping a crime, dancing, playing golf well, and swimming. I was asked how I physically showed Art’s experience. We made a couple of key changes. First, the makeup was adjusted. Second, I focused on being more physically active and energetic in my performance. Honestly, it can be challenging to summon that energy on the fourth take at my age! [Laughs] We also lightened my hair and body hair, and I didn’t wear glasses or hearing aids to emphasize the change.

Was there any part of the training montage you particularly enjoyed filming? Definitely the swimming. Actually, a lot of the goofing around I did underwater ended up being cut from the final version, which was probably a good thing. I realized I was getting a little carried away! [Laughs]

I really want to see the extended cut because there’s so much to unpack! It’s fascinating how Art physically changes after eating the peach, and it’s telling that even though he initially wanted to share what was happening to him, he immediately clams up and lies to Anneliese when she starts asking questions. He just doesn’t trust her, and I’m dying to understand why. Something about her feels off, and the script intentionally keeps us, and Art, guarded around her. That’s when I, as the viewer, really start to feel like something’s hunting him. His first question – “Where’s my wife?” – really hits you. He’s terrified and desperate to escape. It makes you think about how easily incredible discoveries can be lost. We’ve seen it happen before, with brilliant minds like Nikola Tesla offering something amazing to the world, only to have their work and information vanish after their death. It’s clear Art understands the danger he’s in and the potential consequences of what he’s experiencing.

Now that Mom has recovered, do you think Art and Judy will stay together? I’m optimistic they can heal their relationship, as everything is out in the open now. Art has had a realization that’s changed his viewpoint, and hopefully, Judy will understand that, especially after everything she’s been through. He’s grown as a person and is now capable of understanding and supporting someone who is discovering new perspectives on life.

If the show continued, I’d love to see what Art does next. Will he focus on the mushrooms again, or maybe make another animal friend? I’m particularly interested in revisiting the mushroom storyline, as mushrooms are increasingly used for medicinal purposes, and it would be great to explore that further. I’d also like to see more development in Art’s relationship with his wife. I even asked the creators what happened to the seed Anneliese swallowed! I don’t think Art’s journey is over; his experiences with the crows have only made him more curious and eager to learn more.

Peters says he also took the job to work with Molina again, after they first worked together 35 years ago on the crime series El C.I.D.: “I haven’t seen Alfredo for a while.

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2026-05-25 16:58