It isn’t just science fiction that Syfy is working to bring back as it has just announced a two season order of the horror anthology series ‘Channel Zero‘. While not a long series, we’ll see it air in two six-episode seasons which will be released upon an unsuspecting public in the Fall of 2016 and 2017 respectively. The show, much like ‘American Horror Story’ will have a full season self contained story. There is no word at this time if it will follow FX’s hit and somehow have the anthologies connected or if it will even share actors across the seasons.
While I’m not sure if I would instantly be excited about another horror anthology series to join ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Scream Queens,’ with the show being written by Nick Antosca who is responsible for ‘Hannibal’, excited is an understatement! It helps that the plan is to have the series produced by Max Landis (‘Chronicle’) and be at the very center of the network’s yearly “31 Days of Halloween” event.
Obviously the stakes are high and with the caliber of talent involved, it looks like they will be working to give us something special.
The first run of ‘Channel Zero’ will be based upon Kris Straub’s story ‘Candle Cove’ which is “about a man’s obsessive recollections of a mysteries children’s television show from the 1980s – and the show’s suspected role in a series of murders and deadly events from his childhood.”
Landis and Antosca have previously said:
“We love the idea of doing seasons of TV like rich, character-driven horror novels, and for Channel Zero: Candle Cove we’ve expanded this great short story Candle Cove into something really nightmarish and haunting and surreal. We can’t wait to dig in deeper and bring this to life with Syfy and Universal Cable Productions.”
Clearly their passion for the project has shown through in the initial work if Syfy has committed to two seasons. No word on what the second season will be about at this time.
Landis has followed up with a new statement saying:
“As lifelong fans of experimental horror and science fiction, from The Twilight Zone to Tales from the Crypt, we are overjoyed to have the opportunity to offer exposure to a new generation of creators. Channel Zero is a great opportunity to explore new frontiers in the genre, in a way that allows us to really dig in and get weird.”
Syfy president Dave Howe adds that:
“As Syfy’s first ever Halloween original scripted series, Channel Zero will transport viewers into the deepest recesses of their darkest imagination, with frightening tales from two of the genre’s most accomplished storytellers, Max Landis and Nick Antosca.”
While NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment COO Jeff Wachtel mentioned:
“We’re thrilled to partner with Max Landis and Nick Antosca to bring these brilliantly macabre stories to life. Fans are in for a haunting, spine-tingling ride.”
Hopefully with the six episode runs they’ll be able to put the kind of talent in front of the camera that they are already including behind it.
Are you looking forward to checking out ‘Channel Zero’ when it airs next year? Do you think the first season has a theme that you’ll want to check out? Share your thoughts below!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
