TCA Winter 2017: More Details Emerge from The Mist; Spike Series Not a Remake
Spike TV had its turn to talk shop during the Television Critics Association’s 2017 Winter Press Tour on Friday, where some pretty interesting details emerged about the upcoming “The Mist” series. Don’t expect a remake or a reboot, or even a strict adaptation of Stephen King’s original story, but rather a “reimagination” along the lines of “Fargo.”
Per TV Guide, executive producer Christian Torpe provided the aforementioned description and elaborated: “Internally, we talk about it as doing the ‘Fargo’ approach, where the movie and the TV show is the same, but it’s different. It’s like a weird, twisted cousin to the original source material. Fans of the movie and of the book and of Mr. King’s work will certainly see elements from it…We also, in order to develop it for TV and turn it into an ongoing series, took our own little detours here and there.”
As all good horror fans know, director Frank Darabont’s 2007 film had a very downbeat, controversial ending that differed from King’s; and we can expect yet another take from Torpe & Co., although he did say the show’s finale would likely mirror the dark tone of the film rather than the novella’s hopeful ending.
“I personally love… Mr. [Darabont’s] ending,” Torpe said. “I thought it was a stroke of genius. We are playing around in that territory, and we also know, of course, Mr. King’s ending. And I know Mr. King actually preferred Darabont’s ending. And so I think we came up with our own spin on a very original and surprising ending.”
We also now have a better idea of the first season’s structure and who’s who… There will be multiple scattered groups struggling to survive the Mist. Alyssa Sutherland plays a mother who gets trapped in a mall with her daughter and her daughter’s rapist; Morgan Spector plays the father of Sutherland’s daughter, who is stuck in a different location from the rest of his family; Okezie Morro plays a man with amnesia struggling to find allies; and Frances Conroy plays a woman whose ideas regarding the origin of the monstrous Mist will lead to great conflict within her small community of survivors.
“The Mist” premieres Thursday, June 22, at 10 p.m. on Spike.
About “The Mist”:
“The Mist” tells the story of a foreboding mist that arrives in one small town, ushering in a terrifying new reality for its residents, putting their humanity to the test. What will people do to survive when blinded by fear? The cast includes Morgan Spector, Frances Conroy, Alyssa Sutherland, Gus Birney, Dan Butler, Luke Cosgrove, Danica Curcic, Okezie Morro, Darren Pettie, Russell Posner, and Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
Christian Torpe and Amanda Segel are executive producers of “The Mist.” Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, and David Glasser are executive producers for TWC-Dimension Television with Megan Spanjian, Matthew Signer, and Keith Levine as producers. Sharon Levy, Executive Vice President, Original Series Programming and Development; Ted Gold, Senior Vice President, Scripted Original Series; and Lauren Ruggiero, Vice President, Scripted Programming, oversee the project for Spike with Vlad Wolynetz serving as co-executive producer.
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