TV

The Harbour Lights finale changed in the edit, and the cast knew

Two members of the Harbour Lights cast have now separately described filming a version of the third-season ending that is not the version that went out. One said it in a podcast interview recorded before transmission; the other said it on a convention panel at the weekend, in front of several hundred people.

Alternate endings are shot all the time. The interesting thing here is not that one existed — it is that nobody involved seems to have been asked to keep quiet about it.

The difference, as described, is not a plot reversal. Both versions end in the same place. What changed is who is in the room for it, and the show’s creator has said in the past that the final scene was the part of the season she rewrote most.

What this usually means

Coverage of a scene is shot in several configurations so the edit has choices. Where a season has a second-season order pending, more than one exit is often covered so the door stays open. Neither of those is a crisis and neither implies a troubled production.

What we asked

We put a short set of questions to the production about whether an alternate ending was shot and whether it will appear on any release. We were told the production does not discuss editorial decisions, which is a real answer and we are printing it as one rather than as a “refused to comment”.