After seven acclaimed seasons, Grace and Frankie is days away from taking its final bow with the premiere of the final batch of episodes on Netflix. With fans preparing to say their farewells to the series, we spoke with cinematographer Luke Miller about his work on the show. It’s been quite the ride for Miller, who stepped into the show at the start as a gaffer before stepping behind the camera and playing a pivotal role in capturing the right moments as the cinematographer.

The final episodes of Grace and Frankie premiere on Netflix on April 29, 2022. Find out more about Miller’s involvement in the series along with some teases of the final episodes in our full interview with the cinematographer below.

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MovieWeb: You’ve been working on Grace and Frankie since the start of the show up to its upcoming series finale. What were your thoughts about the series coming into it, as well as what it’s become as one of Netflix’s longest-running original shows?

Luke Miller: When I first heard about the show, it was a bit difficult to wrap my head around it. At the time there were only a few original streaming shows, and the idea of a cast with this much magnitude would all get together for an original comedy on Netflix was a complete shift in how I thought about streaming. Also, I had no idea it would end up running so long! When we started, Jane, Lily, Martin, and Sam were all in their 70s, and I thought we’d do a couple of seasons at most. Each year everyone kept coming back for more, and I’m so glad they did! This show has been a once in a career opportunity; to work for so long with such wonderful people is really an experience that will be very hard to top.

Over the years the show’s audience kept growing. During the first couple of seasons people would often say, “Oh, haven’t heard of that one,” or “oh yeah my parents like it” but as the years went by, and more people gave it a try, the common responses changed to “Oh, I love that show!” or “I love watching it with my parents.” I think the writing started out great and just kept getting better and better as everyone got to know the characters.

MW: It’s been an interesting journey for yourself too as this show has moved on from season to season. Can you tell me about how you came into the show as a gaffer and wound up getting behind the camera?

LM: I first interviewed with Gale Tattersall, the director of photography, on a referral from another gaffer. We instantly connected, and he chose me for the job. Gale made it clear from the beginning that we would be collaborating very closely at every step of the way. He included me in everything from our first camera tests, where we chose which camera and lenses to use, to designing the look and feel of the lighting we used. He provided a wonderful environment where he was both a fantastic mentor and at the same time a total collaborator who valued my ideas.

Before we started the fifth season, our insightful producer Randall Winston suggested bringing in someone to cover Gale on a couple of days per episode so that he could scout and prep with incoming directors. Gale made the case that I was the only viable option, as we had spent years developing and refining our techniques for lighting our legendary cast together, and anyone who would come in from the outside would either have to start from scratch, or just rely on me to keep the show consistent anyway. Randall agreed and with the support of our showrunners Marta Kauffman and Howard Morris, Jane and Lily, and Skydance Television, I was able to step up.

Throughout the fifth season, I was the director of photography for two or three days of most episodes, and two whole episodes (508 and 512). Shooting just a couple of days each episode required that I match Gale’s style exactly, otherwise, the episodes would lack visual consistency. I made it my goal to make the scenes I shot looked as if Gale shot them himself. Everyone was happy with the episodes I shot in season 5, and the directors were thrilled at having a DP for their entire prep. So in season 6 we began alternating episodes and continued doing that through season 7.

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MW: What can you tell me about your approach to designing the cinematography for each episode, from script to screen?

LM: First and foremost I tried to keep each episode true to the look and feel of the series. That look was refined over the years as we learned, but our aim was to keep it consistent. A natural cinematic look, a little extra contrast in the backgrounds, and of course beautiful soft lighting for the actors.

When approaching each episode on its own, I try to find as many answers as possible during prep. I read the script and think about each scene; whose scene is it, what are they going through, is there something important in the story that the camera or lighting could enhance? For example, could the last day scene be at dusk to match the mood of the scene? Then, I spend as much time with a director during prep as possible; I’m in every meeting, from wardrobe to props, to “will the short rib splatter when punched” meetings, so that I can absorb every angle of the directors’ ideas, and find opportunities to coordinate color palettes with the production designer or costume designer. I also come up with my own ideas, which I’ll offer to a director if she likes them, but I don’t get attached to them, because ultimately my job is to help tell the director’s story, not mine.

Once I understand everything a director wants to do on the episode, I translate everything into the visual language of Grace and Frankie to make sure we can accomplish the ideas while keeping the show in the same world. For example, in episode 715, the script called for a set that would traditionally be dark with colorful lights, but that might have stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the bright and natural look of the show. Alex Hardcastle was directing that episode, since he had directed multiple episodes of the show he was very familiar with the language, and he took extra care to pick a great location that we could mold into the right look for the show. We ended up using pink and purple lights, and Jane was in a fabulous pink suit, all of which was in line with our color palette from Say Grace, Vybrant, and Rise Up. The scene looks totally different from anything we had done before, but it still flows with the look of the series and still feels right.

MW: Is there anything you can tease that’s in store for the fans with the final episodes of Grace and Frankie?

LM: While I can’t give any spoilers, what I can say is; I think ending a series that is near and dear to people’s hearts is one of the most difficult tasks in television writing. I think our writers, led by Marta Kauffman and Howard Morris, did a fantastic job with the series finale. As someone who’s been a part of every episode along the way, I’m very personally invested in the show and its characters, and I found myself grinning ear to ear at every step of the way while we filmed the finale. From the table read to the last day of shooting everything just felt right in line with the rest of the series, comforting, like your favorite warm blanket.

MW: For the aspiring cinematographers out there hoping to break into the industry, what kind of advice could you offer?

LM: There isn’t one path to becoming a cinematographer, everyone’s path is different, so along the way make sure to absorb as much as you can from other cinematographers. Think like a cinematographer while you’re doing other things. For example, I worked my way up through the Set Lighting department, but I was always watching the cinematographer on set, thinking about why they were making the choices they made. Get to know everyone on a set, many PAs are aspiring directors, shoot their projects in-between your day jobs.

The most common question I see aspiring cinematographers ask is “What camera should I buy to make me a cinematographer?” Cinematography is about storytelling, it’s not about the technology. You need to understand the technology, but ultimately the cameras and lenses are just tools like paintbrushes. Focus on the storytelling first, and then look for the right tools to tell each story.

MW: With Grace and Frankie wrapped, what’s next for Luke Miller? Can you tell me about any other projects coming that fans of your work can watch out for?

LM: Right now I’m prepping a short film called “Introducing Billy Bradley” with Michael Charles Roman who played Adam on Grace and Frankie. It’s a personal story of his, and he’s writing, directing, and starring in it. This is his first time in the director’s chair which is a collaboration I really enjoy. I love to guide new directors through the process of discovering how to put their vision on screen. After that I’m a bit of a free agent, Grace and Frankie was such a wonderful job, it set a very high bar, but I’m excited to find something new.

Grace and Frankie will premiere its final episodes on April 29, 2022, on Netflix. Find it streaming online at Netflix.com.