About 2 weeks ago the question as to whether audiences would actually get to see Bryan Fuller’s reboot of ‘The Munsters’ arose, but now NBC has given an official announcement stating that ‘Mockingbird Lane’ will now run as a one-hour Halloween special dashing the hopes of some that the project will become a series.
The pilot will air as a lead in to ‘Grimm’ filling the time slots that were originally to go to ‘Community’ and ‘Whitney’ which NBC has decided to hold off airing.
NBC Entertainment President, Jennifer Salke says of the pairing, “This exciting new take on a memorable series will definitely blow out conventional wisdom and create its own legacy. Teaming this new show with a terrifying episode of Grimm makes the perfect pre-Halloween fright-fest.”
The development of ‘Mockingbird Lane’ has been a roller coaster ride for both NBC and Fuller. Originally planned to be aired in the 2010-2011 season, the project has had numerous obstacles it’s had to overcome just to get even get made. Now, two years and $10 million later, NBC is mulling over what to do with this first episode. According to reports, there has been some debate regarding ‘Mockingbird Lane.’ While its visual style has been highly praised, the pilot didn’t seem to be able to pull off the premise of a contemporary show about monsters that the execs were hoping for.
This really isn’t the Munster family many remember. To see what I mean, checks out the official stills below that were released from the pilot. As you can see, the family doesn’t look too monstrous. Jerry O’Connell as Herman doesn’t look like a full-on Frankenstein but will have prominent scars and stitches indicating he was made and not born, Eddie Izzard as Grandpa has forgone the pasty complexion and cape in lieu of a more dapper style but still has the long black fingernails. Speaking of pasty, Marilyn (Charity Wakefield) looks very alabaster next to her relatives and she’s the normal one! Then there’s Lily (played by Portia de Rossi) and Eddie (Mason Cook) who look normal in their own right. It’s very understandable to see why the family doesn’t have the same “look” as their predecessors as nowadays vampires and werewolves have taken on a very human look most of the time. Just look at ‘The Twilight Saga,’ ‘Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Being Human’ as examples.
TV audiences will soon see for themselves whether the Bryan Singer directed pilot actually does work as it will air Friday, October 26th at 8 pm. As for NBC, they are standing by their official statement that the future of ‘Mockingbird Lane’ is still undecided.
‘Mockingbird Lane’ Stills:
(Click images to enlarge)
Source: TVLine
