Retired forensics expert Dave Miranda had decades worth of stories to stem from for his new crime drama

Dave Miranda started forming ideas for a show 15 years ago, after witnessing the scenes of crimes, accidents, and even police corruption while he was working as a crime scene investigator and forensics expert.

He worked as a mechanic and a contractor amongst other jobs, but it was working in forensics that drove him to write thought-provoking and realistic fiction that reflected the demands of the job.

Choice is the main theme of Miranda’s screenplay, “On Days Like These,” because he believes making the decision to aid someone in need is more honorable than being forced to do so or having a convenient heroic accident, a trope Miranda is tired of seeing in television shows.

The main character Mike is meant to go against that trope. He does the right thing despite his vulnerability and accepts the consequences.

Miranda waited until retirement to release his stories because of the pressure not to damage the department’s reputation.

Most of the events in Miranda’s screenplay is taken from his own experiences, others are from his colleagues and what he believes to be credible sources. The fraction of events that were completely imagined by Miranda were not created out of wishful thinking, but instead deductive reasoning and what Miranda believes would be the more realistic, and in some situations, the most just outcome.

One cold, dark night while Miranda was investigating a scene in the rain, his fingers were so stiff that he could barely manage to take his notes.

“I remember it was so miserable that night,” he said. “I thought, this is one of these things that the shows never really do.

Emerging American Voices screenwriter Dave Miranda. Use the Aurasma app (Free on Google Play / iTunes) and follow: LogosMagazine to unlock a bonus video by scanning this photo. Photo by: Vidal Espina / Logos

The crimes committed and cases featured in Miranda’s show are meant to be puzzling and immersive. He wants it to be thought provoking for his audience.

He intends for the audience to meet his expectations without the need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to the villain. The feedback Miranda received from the performance met his expectations.

He spoke with excited viewers and was pleased with the actors’ renditions of his characters.

All performers except one were playing a character that was two to three times their actual age. Mike Tapia, who plays the lead character Mike, had many in depth conversations with Miranda to ensure the accurate portrayal of the selfless protagonist.

Tapia compared his performance of Mike to Daniel Day-Lewis playing Lincoln, only Lincoln is still alive, watching, and tells him the performance was “alright”.

“When you are playing someone that can tell you how good you where, you know, it’s a little nerve racking. A little high pressure.” Tapia said.

The screenplay of “On Days Like These,” is intended to be the pilot episode for Miranda’s television show that he intends to finalize in the next year.

Miranda is not working on just a crime show featuring thrilling cases, but also a family drama with an overarching story of corruption of the system.

“Part of my intention with the series is to show the physical and the true emotion cost of doing this line of work.”