McCarthy also brought a personal perspective to the story. "I was raised Catholic so I have great understanding, admiration and respect for the institution," he explains. "This story is not about Church bashing. It's about asking 'How does something like this happen?' The church performed, and in some cases continues to perform, acts of institutional evil not only as an abuser of kids but also through the cover-up of abuse. How could this abuse go on for decades without people standing up and saying something?"
In keeping with the diligence of the Spotlight team, Singer and McCarthy spent months conducting interviews with journalists, victims and others at the center of the story.
"We went up to Boston two or three times, we did multiple interviews with each of the reporters involved in the story and I thought we were done." recalls Singer. "But verisimilitude was always key for Tom. He kept asking, 'What about the journalists who worked on Porter? What about the lawyers?' He wanted to understand this story from every angle. I've always loved research, so this was music to my ears. And, well, big surprise, it was when we reached out beyond our core group that we stumbled upon some of the most unexpected details in this story. And these are the pieces that I think really make the story feel grounded and real."
Singer, who graduated from Harvard Law School in Boston shortly before the Spotlight investigation began, had generally avoided reading about the Church scandal. "I remember during my early days working on 'The West Wing,' I never wanted to read about it in the newspapers because the idea of clergy sex abuse was so upsetting to me on so many levels. What really drew me to Spotlight was that it's a story about the reporters who uncovered this abuse. For me, that was the way in. By following these reporters, the audience gets to understand the problem in a way that's accessible."
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