Ep: 96 John Paesano (The Boroughs, Maze Runner)

Ep: 96 John Paesano (The Boroughs, Maze Runner)

From Composer Talk by Matthew Wang

June 12, 2026 · 39 min · Season 10 · Episode 6

About this episode

John Paesano discusses his work on the score for Netflix's 'The Boroughs' and his influences from classic composers.

Our next guest is an Emmy and Grammy-nominated composer who recently scored  The Boroughs , Netflix's supernatural drama from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, executive produced by the Duffer Brothers. Set inside a seemingly perfect retirement community, the series follows a grieving newcomer whose monstrous encounter pulls him into a hidden world of danger and unlikely heroism — and its score rises to meet every moment. He discusses what drew him to the project and how he approached building a sweeping orchestral sound rooted in the unashamed, front-and-center scoring of the '80s and early '90s. He talks about growing up on John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and Alan Silvestri, and what it means to write in that tradition today, music that sits right alongside the performances, tied closely to character and story rather than sitting in the background. And the composer is... John Paesano Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Matthew Wang

Guest: John Paesano

Topics covered

  • film scoring
  • supernatural drama
  • orchestral music
  • 80s music influence
  • character-driven music

Keywords

  • John Paesano
  • The Boroughs
  • Netflix
  • film score
  • 80s music
  • orchestral sound
  • Duffer Brothers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Netflix, Duffer Brothers

Books & works: The Boroughs, Maze Runner

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