TV Bits: Rick McCallum Says ‘Star Wars’ Show Is “‘Empire Strikes Back’ On Steroids,” Plus: ‘American Horror Story’, ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘The Killing’, And More
Is it Halloween already? Today’s TV Bits is dark and spooky, as it deals with vampires, zombies, murderers, and other scary creatures. (Insert your own joke about some ofStar Wars' CGI characters being their own brand of horrifying here.) After the jump:
It’s much darker [than the movies]. It’s a much more adult series. I think, thematically, in terms of characters and what they go through, it will be… if we can ever get it together and George really wants to pursue it, it’ll be the most awesome part of the whole franchise, personally…. It’s Empire Strikes Back on steroids.
McCallum revealed that the original idea had been “Deadwoodin space,” and he’s compared it toThe Godfatherin the pastas well, but even with the mature it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’ll be toning things down a bit for the series. “Obviously, we changed it for where we couldn’t go in terms of language,” he said. “It was to be serious performances, very complicated relationships, unbelievable issues of power and corruption, greed, vanity, pride, ego manifesting itself at levels that only equal the world that we live in now, but, as I said, on steroids.”
For more on theStar Warstelevision series, head over toCollider.
After the release of three very successfulParanormal Activitymovies, directorOren Peliis about to make his first foray into television with next month’sThe River. Executive produced bySteven Spielberg(though it kind of feels like everything is these days), the “found footage”-style series centers around the search for nature TV host Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), who’s gone missing in the Amazon. The first episode was directed byOrphanhelmer Jaume Collet-Serra, and also starsJoe Anderson,Leslie Hope,Paul Blackthorne,Eloise Mumford,Daniel Zacapa, andThomas Kretschmann. Watch the trailer below:
The RiverdebutsTuesday, February 7on ABC. [Shock Till You Drop]
I suppose it’s pretty fitting that the vampire trend just won’t die, isn’t it? NBC is now about to take its own stab (ha ha) at the subgenre withDracula, an 1890s-set drama described as “Dangerous LiaisonsmeetsThe Tudors” with an international setting and a young, sexy appeal.Tony Krantz(24,Felicity) andColin Callender(Tsunami: The Aftermath) will executive produce, whileCole Haddonis set to write. The network has givenDraculaa “script-to-series” commitment, which means it’ll skip the pilot stage and go stright to series if NBC approves of the script.
Haddon is relatively new at screenwriting, but could already be carving out a niche for himself reinterpreting dark characters of classic literature; hisDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-inspired scriptHydeearned aBlack Listspot back in 2010. [Deadline]
As the wild first season ofAmerican Horror Storydrew to a close, co-creatorRyan Murphyrevealed that the show would go in an entirely different direction in its second season, moving to a new haunted locale and incorporating a mostly new cast. Though the Season 2 lineup remains mostly undecided at this point, Golden Globe winnerJessica Langehas revealed that she, for one, is considering a return. “Yes, we are considering a second season,” Lange toldTV Line. “Nothing is definite yet.” If Lange does come back, however, she won’t be reprising the character that won her the prize. “I know that everybody that is returning will be playing a different character,” she said.
Murphy haspreviously confirmedthat starsConnie BrittonandDylan McDermottwouldnotbe coming back, though he’s said that other unnamed Season 1 stars could return in different roles. [viaHollywood.com]
While we prepare for theMarch returnofMad Men, AMC has announced release dates for one of its other hit dramas,The Killing. The second season of the crime drama will kick off with a two-hour premiere onSunday, April 1at 8 PM, against HBO’sGame of ThronesSeason 2 premiere at 9 PM. Upon its return,The Killingwill pick up where it left off with the Rosie Larsen murder, whichwon’t be solveduntil the Season 2 finale, and will also introduce a new mystery.
Meanwhile, there’s good news for fans ofThe Walking Deadas AMC announces that the upcoming third season will consist of 16 episodes, rather than the current season’s 13. The second season, which has been on hiatus since late November, is gearing up to return onSunday, February 12. [TV Line]
