The Following

Good news for fans of Fox series new and old: the network has just picked up freshman series The Mindy Project and The Following for second seasons, as well as renewed New Girl and Raising Hope. None of this news is terribly surprising, as The Mindy Project and The Following have both had decent showings for the network in their first seasons. Meanwhile, New Girl has continued to grow its fan following in its current second season, and Raising Hope has been dependable in its third. Are you excited that Fox's Tuesday night comedy block is staying intact?

It usually takes a pretty great concept to lure a movie actor to the small screen, and such is the case for The Following, Fox's newest crime thriller starring Kevin Bacon, which premieres this week. Bacon is playing Ryan Hardy, an alcoholic ex-FBI agent tasked with catching Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), a calculating escaped killer. The two have a history, and when Carroll escapes, a dangerous game of cat and mouse is set into play.

• What it's about: Hardy wrote the book (literally) on Carroll, a serial killer inspired by the morbid works of Edgar Allan Poe. So when Carroll escapes from prison, Hardy, along with a team of agents (Shawn Ashmore, Annie Parisse), is faced with stopping Carroll before he can get to his last victim (the one that got away) and the family he left behind when he was caught. Only this time, the game isn't so simple; Carroll has spent his years in the tank motivating a large cult of fans to follow in his murderous footsteps.
• Where it works: The show was created and written by Kevin Williamson (the guy behind the Scream franchise and The Vampire Diaries), and he brings his signature tongue-in-cheek awareness to the show. Though Bacon is the show's big name, Purefoy is terrifying as Carroll. It's clear from the first few minutes of the pilot that he's unpredictable, merciless, and always 10 steps ahead of everyone else.
• Where it doesn't: The show is especially disturbing and gory, so if you're not into that, you might want to take a pass.
• When it's on: Mondays at 9 p.m. on Fox
• You might like this show if: You want a (better) replacement for The Killing.

Watch a preview and see all the pictures for The Following after the jump.

If the ads for Fox's new drama The Following have been giving you chills, it's for good reason; creator Kevin Williamson came to the TCA today and promised lots of scares from the show, which follows a cult of people carrying out the orders of an imprisoned serial killer. The cast, including stars Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy, were also on hand to address their roles on the show. Read on for the best bits from their TCA panel, including the Edgar Allan Poe inspiration and how this series compares to Williamson's other show, The Vampire Diaries.

• Kevin Bacon stars as detective Ryan Hardy, the man who put serial killer Joe Carroll away, and The Following marks Bacon's first time starring in his own TV series. He talked about why he chose this particular project, saying he had been looking for a series for three or four years, and admitted that he thought he would end up on cable. However, he read the script for The Following and "couldn't put it down," saying it was a page-turner that has a "fast-paced, heart-pounding nature," but "still had a heart."
• Williamson acknowledged how violent the show is, saying, "Yes, it's a horrific, scary show." How scary? "There are some moments that are squeamish. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's not the sum of the show." He also dismissed the idea that the writers "sit around and just think of ways to kill people," saying, "I'm thinking of the drama." Indeed, many of the murders are not committed by serial killer Carroll (played by James Purefoy), but by his band of "absolutely willing accomplices," Purefoy said. He added, "The acts of violence come out of people's story, people's background."
• Williamson was asked to compare The Following to his other current series, The Vampire Diaries. While people are killed regularly on both shows, Williamson seemed to see more differences than similarities. The supernatural CW series has a "sort of gothic romanticism hinged in vampire landscape, more of a Dark Shadows," he said, whereas The Following seems a bit more grown-up. The "characters are older," he said, with "several generations of characters I get to play with."
• Williamson talked about the show's pervasive Edgar Allan Poe inspiration (Carroll is also a literature professor obsessed with Poe, and characters wear Poe masks to commit violent acts). Williamson said that he went to a museum of Poe's home as a kid and "they had 'The Raven' written on the walls, [to] follow along and read it." Though it might sound creepy, Williamson said that it was "the most magical day of my life" and he's been fascinated by the poet ever since. "I love Edgar. He had a very fascinating life; he was a very damaged writer."
• If the detective/serial killer setup seems familiar, Williamson knows what you're talking about. "Clearly Silence of the Lambs inspired me," he admitted. "I was the guy who saw the movie, read that book, [then] read it the next day," he said, calling the film and book a "huge inspiration."

The upfronts are next week, and we'll find out more about the new shows coming to the Fall 2012 TV lineup, but we've got the early scoop on the series the networks have already picked up. We went over the new NBC shows, and now you can get acquainted with the new projects coming to Fox below.

COMEDIES

• The Mindy Project: The Office's Mindy Kaling is executive producing and starring in this comedy as an OB/GYN figuring out her career and personal life.
• The Goodwin Games: Becki Newton, Scott Foley, and Jake Lacey play estranged siblings who are brought together when their father dies and have to follow the conditions in his will in order to claim their inheritance.
• Ben & Kate: Comedian Nat Faxon stars as a free spirit who moves in with his uptight sister (Dakota Johnson), who's a single mother, and helps raise her baby.

DRAMAS

• The Following: Kevin Bacon stars as an FBI profiler who comes out of retirement to track down the followers of a serial killer in this thriller from The Vampire Diaries creator Kevin Williamson.
• The Mob Doctor: My Boys' Jordana Spiro plays a doctor who is forced to attend to the mob in this drama, which also costars Friday Night Lights' Zach Gilford.