BuzzSugar

What Will You Watch on TV Tonight?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:32:17 -0700

As Summer TV nights go, this one is actually relatively big. Two new shows - Fear Itself and Swingtown - are premiering, while an established Summer favorite - So You Think You Can Dance - reveals its top 20 contestants. Plus, there's the start of the NBA finals and the end of Step It Up and Dance. So, what will you be watching?

Photos courtesy of NBC, CBS, and Fox

TV Tonight: Fear Itself

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:37:48 -0700

Making a horror series to the standards of network television can't be an easy task - but NBC has put some of the genre's best on the case. Fear Itself, the network's horror anthology series, premieres tonight, with the directors of films such as American Psycho and Bride of Chucky taking turns creating spooky one-hour episodes for the next 13 Thursdays.

There's nothing overly gory about these episodes - in part because that kind of thing would never make it past broadcast censors but also because the producers (who also did Showtime's Masters of Horror) thought that those R-rated elements had been pushed as far as they could go in films and on cable. The result is a series that's reaching for a more psychological sort of horror - spooky, not gross.

Tonight's first episode, "The Sacrifice," is a pretty straightforward take on the genre. Four fugitives - including one played by Jesse Plemons, Landry of Friday Night Lights - turn up at a cabin in the middle of nowhere. At first it seems like a safe, comfortable place (stocked with beautiful women, no less), but of course it's anything but. The story isn't terribly complex (it could be a slightly more adult take on something from Are You Afraid of the Dark?), but it's well-directed by Breck Eisner, who's currently remaking The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the acting is sufficiently creepy. For more on the series and to see a preview, just read more.

Later episodes go heavier on the psychological elements; while I still haven't seen either of the two I'm most highly anticipating, the second episode - in which a bad cop stages a stakeout at what turns out to be a haunted house - has a very different feel from "The Sacrifice." I'm curious to see where the series goes; its format seems perfect for Summer, since viewers can pop in and out without missing plot.

Will you be checking in to see if Fear Itself spooks you? Here's a look:

Photo courtesy of NBC

NBC Gets Top Talent for 13-Episode Horror Anthology

BuzzSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:29:18 -0800

NBC has lured top-notch horror writers, directors and actors to collaborate on Fear Itself, a 13-episode anthology series of suspense and horror stories that sounds like it's going to be genuinely cool and scary.

Some of the notable actors involved include Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Shiri Appleby (Charlie Wilson's War), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Cynthia Watros (Lost) and Eric Roberts (Heroes). The group of writers chosen to contribute features Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), Dan Knauf (Carnivale, Supernatural), and a bunch of guys from Masters of Horror, among others. As for directors, they've roped in Mary Harron (American Psycho), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason, Bride of Chucky) and Ernest Dickerson (Heroes), along with several others.

To find out which of the episodes sound the most intriguingly freaky to me, read more.

You can find a full rundown of all the episodes here. The ones I'm most looking forward to are "Nightmare in Lace" ("On her wedding day, a beautiful bride receives a mysterious note that reads: 'The person you are marrying is a serial killer.'") and "Eater" ("A rookie cop (Moss) must spend her first night in the precinct watching over a serial killer, coined 'The Eater' (Stephen R. Hart). When her fellow cops start acting bizarre, she quickly learns that no one is who they seem.").

What do you think of NBC's horror-fest? Will you tune in for Fear Itself?