What a week for television news! With all of the trailers and announcements coming regarding shows that got picked up (AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.), shows coming back (24), and shows not getting series orders (BEVERLY HILLS COP), it is amazing to think of what talents are utilizing the world of the small screen. Two directors who are considered various levels of talented, depending on who you talk to, have projects coming that are quite interesting.
First up is M. Night Shyamalan who is looking to redeem a long string of flops with this summer’s AFTER EARTH. A passion project of his, WAYWARD PINES, just got a limited 12 episode order at FOX. Based on the novel Pines by Blake Crouch, the story should appeal to fans of THE FOLLOWING.
Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan further from the world he thought he knew, from the man he thought he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.
I am fine with Shyamalan as long as he isn’t writing or directing the thing. The man definitely has an eye for interesting stories but just fumbles it when he is behind the camera. According to Deadline, Matt Dillon will star in WAYWARD PINES which FOX will air in 2014.
The other project comes from Robert Rodriguez and is based on one of his existing works. FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, Rodriguez’ vampire movie written by buddy Quentin Tarantino, is coming back as a Spanish language series on Univision’s El Rey Network. No word on whether the series will be a reboot of the film or a sequel, but it will likely ignore the atrocious direct to DVD follow-ups that were released after the success of the first movie.
I am a fan of FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and I am kind of bummed that it will not be getting an English-language redo. Hopefully, if it is done well enough, we will get to see what Rodriguez has in store for television audiences.
And lets be honest, if Salma Hayek is not starring in it, what is the point?
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