AMC has ordered a second season of its anthology horror series ‘The Terror’. The first season was based on Dan Simmon’s book of the same name which depicted Sir John Franklin’s 1840s expedition to find the Northwest Passage, a tale that was (like ‘American Horror Story: Roanoke’) based on an actual historical event. Season One adapted Simmon’s entire novel, but going forward, AMC will simply be using the name while telling new horror stories from history. ‘The Terror’ ranked as the #2 new drama on cable for this past season and was in the top ten of all ad-supported cable dramas.
In Season Two, the action will be set in America during World War II and will consist of ten episodes, like the first. The setting will be a Japanese-American community in southern California and will follow as American citizens of Japanese descent are rounded up and placed in the infamous internment camps. Obviously, the creators of the series have been planning this story for some time as it takes quite a while to put these shows together, but the sudden reflection of current headlines is uncanny. The new season hasn’t begun production, so it probably won’t arrive until 2019.
The storyline for season two was pitched by Max Borenstein, who will help craft the scripts and serve as executive producer. He stated:
“As a history-buff and genre geek (not to mention a conscious American today), it’s clear that truth is always scarier than fiction…This season of The Terror uses as its setting one of the darkest, most horrific moments in our nation’s history. The Japanese-American internment is a blemish on the nation’s conscience — and one with dire resonance to current events. I’m thrilled that AMC is giving us the chance to use that darkness as the inspiration for what I hope will be a trenchant, terrifying season of TV.”
David Kajganich originally developed ‘The Terror’ but he and co-showrunner Soo Hugh have chosen not to remain for the new season. As Hugh previously remarked:
“Dave and I aren’t coming back for Season 2 by our choice. We’re just really excited to see what AMC does with what we’ve done. I’d like to go onto a smaller canvas [for my next project]. We’re both exhausted.”
The new showrunner will be Alexander Woo, who has worked on the series ‘True Blood’, ‘Manhattan’ and ‘Sleeper Cell’. He also co-wrote HBO’s acclaimed original film ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’.
Upon the announcement of his participation with ‘The Terror’, he announced:
“I’m deeply honored to be telling a story set in this extraordinary period. We hope to convey the abject terror of the historical experience in a way that feels modern and relevant to the present moment. And the prospect of doing so with a majority Asian and Asian-American cast is both thrilling and humbling.”
Executive producer Ridley Scott remains on board for the new cycle. The first series starred Ciarán Hinds and Jared Harris, but it seems that unlike ‘AHS’, viewers should not expect recurring cast members, seeing as Woo stated that the majority of the season two cast will be Asian or Asian-American.
Were you a fan of the first season of ‘The Terror’? Are you excited to see another installment?
Source: Cinema Blend, /Film
