10 Things You Didn’t Know About… Grimm

A police procedural based on 19th-century fairytales sounded like an unworkable combination when Grimm was first launched back in 2011, but the series has proved to be a big hit and has celebrated six successful years on the air. 

Starring David Giuntoli as Detective Nick Burkhardt, a homicide detective whose world is turned upside down when discovers he is a descendant of hunters who fight supernatural forces and must carry on the fight while telling no one of his new abilities.

Packed with deadly monsters, deceptive friends and colleagues and more twists and turns then you can keep up with, Grimm is not only tremendous fun, but also very, very gripping.

The show is now at an end and the sixth season is heading for DVD (you can pre-order it on the right-hand side of the page) we thought we’d have some fun and present 10 things you didn’t know about Grimm…

 

The show almost came to screens in 2008…

Grimm had been in development for a while before it finally reached screens in 2011. As far back as 2008, a drama based on the Brothers Grimm from Stephen Carpenter was in development, but sadly that version of thing got nixed due to the writers’ strike. Fortunately, the idea was from dead...

 

The producers chose Portland because of its parks…

Fairy tales are quite often set in the woods and so anywhere Grimm would be set needed there to be a lot of woods nearby. For that reason, producers choose Portland and the shooting opportunities that the plentiful forests in the city's two largest parks, Washington Park and Forest Park, provided.

 

The Brothers Grimm actually have some descendants in Portland…

The producers didn’t know this when they picked Portland, but, as it turned out, there’s Grimm history in the Oregon city. At Comic-Con in 2013 during an open Q&A, someone in the audience from Portland informed the show’s writers, producers and cast that descendants of the Brothers actually reside in the city. One hell of a coincidence eh?

 

That stained glass on Monroe’s door, it’s very specific…

Nick’s confidante and close friend Monroe has a very specific stained glass display on his front door. It’s a stained glass rendering of a wolf no less, makes sense, given his unique abilities...

 

There have been three spin-off novels…

The show’s success has led to backers looking for spin-offs and, naturally, they looked to the literary world. Three novels, all written by different authors and set in the world of Grimm have been published so far and there are plans for more...

 

There was a comic too...

A companion comic book series was launched in 2013, it ran for 12 issues before ending in April of 2014.

 

Some big actors have made guest appearances…

As shows go, Grimm, isn’t that old, but it’s still found time to get airtime to a few big names for one-off appearances. Angel star Amy Acker appeared in series one, while Buffy The Vampire Slayer star and Acker’s co-lead in Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing Alexis Denisof then made an appearance in series three. Also, back in series two, Reg. E Cathey, star of The Wire and House Of Cards, turns up for a key appearance as Baron Samedi, a homage to the Bond villain of the same name.

 

Not every episode takes after the Brothers…

There have been 88 episodes of Grimm now and there are more on the way, this has meant producers and writers have started to try and come up with their own narratives as they’re simply running out of stories...

 

Bree Turner and Claire Coffee were only supposed to make a few appearances…

Cast as the helpful Rosalee and the dastardly Adalind respectively, both Turner and Coffee weren’t expected to be long-term castings for the show, but the producers liked them so much they bumped up to regulars in the show’s second season.

 

Love has blossomed for Nick and Juliette offscreen too…

They met playing a long-term couple on the show and now life has imitated reality for stars Bitsy Tulloch and David Giuntoli as they’re now together offscreen as well.

 

Grimm: The Complete Series is available in our online store.