Be it ‘The Tonight Show’ or ‘Saturday Night Live’, the people who host television programs carry a certain clout in the public consciousness. And in sci-fi circles, there is perhaps no more iconic hosting job than ‘The Twilight Zone’. Indeed, the show has always been as renowned for its narration as for its legendary O. Henry twists.
Of course, whether it’s Forest Whitaker in 2002 or Charles Aidman in 1985, every ‘Twilight Zone’ host has stood in the shadow of the first and greatest of them all, Rod Serling. Serling, of course, not only originated the hosting style but created the venerable sci-fi anthology as the 1950s drew to a close. And with a new iteration of the show currently in development for CBS All Access, the question inevitably follows: “Just who do you get to step into those shoes?”
To be sure, they’re big shoes to fill, but it seems history is preparing to repeat itself. Much as Serling created and hosted the original, Jordan Peele – who is spearheading the All Access reboot – may be poised to do the same. Speaking with Variety, Peele stated that the rebooted ‘Twilight Zone‘ will follow Serling’s tradition of featuring an onscreen narrator who bookends each episode. And certainly Peele himself would seem to be a good fit for that role. After all, what was ‘Get Out‘ if not a horror story laced with social commentary and a wicked third act twist? It could be taken straight from the classic ‘Twilight Zone’ playbook.
According to Variety, Peele has “resisted – but not ruled out” stepping into Serling’s on-camera shoes. Much of that resistance, he explains, is owed to his own fears that his face is so associated with comedy (thanks to his time on both ‘MadTV’ and ‘Key & Peele’) in the public consciousness that it would undermine the seriousness of what he and his collaborators hope to do with the new ‘Twilight Zone’, to say nothing of the pressure he feels to do justice to Serling’s legacy.
Do you think Peele would be a good choice to host ‘The Twilight Zone’? Is there someone you’d rather see step into Rod Serling’s shoes? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for more on ‘The Twilight Zone’ as it becomes available!
