Giancarlo Esposito and DJ Qualls discuss working on the Creepshow series

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The September 26th premiere of Shudder's series Creepshow is one of the events I'm most looking forward to this year. I'm a big fan of the classic Stephen King / George A. Romero anthology films CREEPSHOW and CREEPSHOW 2, and it sounds like all the right decisions have been made for the show, which has special effects artist Greg Nicotero (who visited the set of the first CREEPSHOW and worked on the sequel) as its creative supervisor.

There was a Creepshow panel at the San Diego Comic-Con this month, and while there a couple of the show's cast members took some time to speak with Heather Wixson of Daily Dead.

The first season of the Creepshow series will consist of six episodes, each of them split into two segments. Actor Giancarlo Esposito, who had a role in Stephen King's sole directorial effort MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, has a role in a Creepshow segment that was directed by Nicotero and is based on King's story Gray Matter. Speaking with Daily Dead, Esposito said the Gray Matter story 

scared the crap out of me. It’s a small town. There’s a hurricane storm. Kid comes in acting weird. His father is at home. "My father needs some help." What do we do? Do we go out in the hurricane? Do we go try to save this guy? Do we leave him to die? Right? We make the biggest mistake in history. We should've left his ass. Biggest mistake in history. But that's human nature, right? I want to save people, help people, jump in when I can. And as I get older, I become a little more mature to be able to assess the situation a little bit. And that sometimes is very wise. But this piece, "Gray Matter," it's the creepiest, weirdest thing I've ever done. I was very, very frightened by the monster in the end."

Esposito also mentioned that he shares scenes with Tobin Bell, 

who plays the sheriff in my piece, and we immediately connected. He's a real actor. We started to write dialogue that wasn't there that we could create our relationship in 24 hours, make it look like we'd known each other for 50 years. And that's how it starts to feel."

Actor DJ Qualls is in a Creepshow segment written by David J. Schow called The Finger, and during his interview he revealed that this story was basically a one-man show for him.

So, my character is a guy who's at the end of his rope. He was married to a woman and it was a complete mismatch. And so he had the normal house and he had step-kids and the life that you're supposed to have, and he couldn't do it. He just couldn't. And I get it, because I am that guy. It reminded me of when I used to be in law and I worked as a paralegal for two years. Towards the end of it, I was closing my door and just crying at my desk. "I can't believe this is what my fu–ing life is." And so this guy goes out walking late at night, and he collects these things that he finds every night and he creates backstories about them. He's not nuts. He's just kind of pathetic. And, one night he goes out walking and he finds this claw, this little half of a finger, and that finger winds up being a changing moment in his life. And it's up to you to decide whether it was for the better. But, I'm the only person in my story. I don't know if you guys know that. So, there's no other actor. Well, there's a man who says one line at my front door, but it was 39 pages of solo dialogue delivered either to a tennis ball or direct to the camera. So, it's all me. It was one of the most challenging things I've ever done."

If you would like to read the full interviews with Esposito and Qualls, head over to Daily Dead.

Here's the full line-up of stories that will be told during this season of Creepshow (which hopefully won't be the only season): 

“All Hallows Eve”  
Written by: Bruce Jones
Directed by: John Harrison
Even then they’re a little too old, this group of friends still want to trick-or-treat but getting candy isn’t all they are looking for.
 
“Bad Wolf Down” 
Written by: Rob Schrab
Directed by: Rob Schrab
A group of American soldiers, trapped behind enemy lines during World War II, finds an unconventional way to even the odds. 

“By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain” 
Story by: Joe Hill, adapted by Jason Ciaramella
Directed by: Tom Savini
Her dad died looking for the monster living at the bottom of Lake Champlain, and now, will she?
 
“The Companion” 
Story by: Joe R. Lansdale, Kasey Lansdale & Keith Lansdale, adapted by Matt Venne
Directed by: Dave Bruckner 
A young boy, bullied by his older brother, sneaks into an abandoned farm that is protected by a supernatural force. 

“Gray Matter” 
Story by: Stephen King, adapted by Byron Willinger and Philip de Blasi
Directed by: Greg Nicotero
Doc and Chief, two old-timers in a small, dying town, brave a storm to check on Richie, an alcoholic single father, after encountering his terrified son at the local convenience store. The story, first published in 1973, is part of King’s best-selling 1978 collection, Night Shift. 
 
“The House of the Head”  
Written by: Josh Malerman 
Directed by: John Harrison
Evie discovers her new dollhouse might be haunted. 
 
“Lydia Layne’s Better Half”  
Story by: John Harrison & Greg Nicotero, adapted by John Harrison
Directed by: Roxanne Benjamin 
A powerful woman denies a promotion to her protégée and lover but fails to anticipate the fallout. 
 
“The Man in the Suitcase”  
Written by: Christopher Buehlman
Directed by: Dave Bruckner 
A college student brings the wrong bag home from the airport only to find a pretzeled man trapped inside, afflicted by a strange condition that turns his pain into gold.
 
“Night of the Paw” 
Written by: John Esposito
Directed by: John Harrison
A lonely mortician finds company in the ultimate  ‘be careful what you wish for’ story. 
 
“Skincrawlers”
Written by: Paul Dini & Stephen Langford
Directed by: Roxanne Benjamin 
A man considers a miraculous new treatment for weight loss that turns out to have unexpected complications.
 
“Times is Tough in Musky Holler” 
Written by: John Skipp and Dori Miller, based on their short story
Directed by: John Harrison
Leaders who once controlled a town through fear and intimidation get a taste of their own medicine.

“The Finger”
Written by: David J. Schow
Directed by: Greg Nicotero
An unhappy man discovers a severed, inhuman appendage on the street and brings it home, where it grows into a loyal companion with some deadly quirks.

Other cast members include Tricia Helfer, Dana Gold, David Arquette, Bruce Davison, Jeffrey Combs, Kid Cudi, Big Boi, and Adrienne Barbeau.

If Creepshow episodes are released on a weekly basis, that means its six week run will end on Halloween.

Shudder's Creepshow is produced by the Cartel with Monster Agency Productions, Taurus Entertainment, and Striker Entertainment. Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, and Eric Woods are executive producers for the Cartel; Greg Nicotero and Brian Witten are executive producers for Monster Agency Productions; Robert Dudelson, James Dudelson and Jordan Kizwani are executive producers for Taurus Entertainment; Russell Binder is executive producer and Marc Mostman co-executive producer for Striker Entertainment.