Tag: WGN America

‘Salem’s Third Season Gets Its First Teaser Trailer!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Yeah, this is another series that’s ‘on the list’.

A list that I’ll never ever get through if I don’t immediately quit my job and start immediately, but I digress.

WGN America has just debuted the first teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of Salem, and the series looks just as twisted as it did when I was really excited for its first season to premiere (which I… still haven’t seen).

The new season is set to kickoff during the week of Halloween (good timing), and this season Marilyn Manson will even guest star as Salem’s own Sweeny Todd. Sounds bad-ass, doesn’t it?

Set in the volatile world of 17th century Massachusetts, SALEM explores what really fueled the town’s infamous witch trials and dares to uncover the dark, supernatural truth hiding behind the veil of this infamous period in American history. In SALEM, witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem. The show, which centers on an epic romance wrapped around this explosive revelation, delivers a bold new vision of Salem — and an even bolder new vision of witches.

Take a look at the teaser trailer below, and be sure to let us know what you think!

New Thriller ‘Underground’ to Debut at New York Comic-Con

by Eric Francisco

Superheroes are inherently champions for social justice. Those two words are unfortunately diluted and just by mentioning them hear I fear I may have lost half our audience. But if you are repulsed by those words then you are repulsed by equality, and I’m not sure if we can see eye to eye there.

At this year’s New York Comic-Con, WGN America are debuting Underground, a new thriller I’m so excited about. Set in the American south before the Jim Crow era, slavery is practiced as simply a way of life. Restless slave Noah organizes a small team to plan an escape from the Macon plantation that imprisons them, sparking the legendary exodus of American slaves to the free north. Not that life would get any better for them in yankee territory, but just for the chance to live and breathe as free people is a fight worth taking. The series, I’m told, has just wrapped production on its first season in Baton Rouge.

Creators Misha Green and Joe Pokaski have a heavy genre lineage, coming from Sons of Anarchy, Marvel’s Daredevil, and Heroes. Joining them is Oscar-winner Akiva Goldsmith executive producing, the series is primed for a 2016 premiere on WGN America. Check out the robust cast:

Aldis Hodge ( Straight Outta Compton, Turn) as Noah, a restless slave on the Macon plantation who plans an escape.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Friday Night Lights, True Blood) as Rosalee, a shy house slave.

Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU) as August Pullman, a secretive man who walks a tightrope between morality and survival.

Alano Miller (Jane the Virgin) as Cato, a cunning and charismatic man despised and feared by his fellow slaves.

Jessica de Gouw (Arrow) as Elizabeth Hawkes, a socialite who shares abolitionist ideals with her husband, John (Marc Blucas, Blue Bloods), a lawyer whose principles clash with the legislation he’s sworn to uphold.

Adina Porter (The 100, The Newsroom) as Pearly Mae, a wife and mother and Mykelti Williamson (Justified) as her husband and preacher Moses.

Amirah Vann (Girls) as Ernestine, head house slave and devoted mother.

Johnny Ray Gill (Rectify) as Sam, Rosalee’s half-brother and a talented carpenter.

Chris Chalk (The Newsroom, Homeland, Gotham) as William Still, an abolitionist.

Reed Diamond (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Tom Macon, a plantation owner and political candidate.

Jussie Smollett (Empire), the IRL brother of Smollett-Bell in the cast as Josey, a wild-eyed runaway who doesn’t trust anyone.

Underground will be screened in Room 1A06 at 2:45pm and will be followed by a Q&A panel on Sunday of New York Comic-Con.

WonderCon 2014: ‘Salem’ Panel

by Kari Lane

The subject of witches can be a tricky one. The word “witch” can bring up all kinds of pop culture images such as: the Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz), broomsticks, scary/ugly women over a caldron (Macbeth), cute girls (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), and so on. There have been many films with witches as the subject but not too many television shows. Well, now there is Salem on WGN America. The show has gained so much attention and is doing so well that it has already been renewed for a second season after being on the air less than a month (3 episodes)!

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“Set in the volatile world of 17th century Massachusetts, Salem explores what really fueled the town’s infamous witch trials and dares to uncover the dark, supernatural truth hiding behind the veil of this infamous period in American history. In Salem, witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem.”

While at WonderCon, I attended the Salem panel where we saw the first twenty-five minutes of the pilot episode a couple of days before it aired. However, a few scenes were cut out of our screening because it was just too graphic (violence and sex) for an all ages panel. The audience laughed when the blank screen came up during the episode and laughed even more when the blank screen was up for an apparently long scene. They did warn us about the graphic nature of the show and, during one scene, a few parents with kids made their way out of the panel room. Everyone else liked what they saw of the pilot! The screening was followed by executive producers Adam Simon and Brannon Braga, along with series star, Shane West, talking about the show.

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Simon started talking about the inspiration behind the show by asking, “Who doesn’t love Salem? Who doesn’t love witches?” He went on to mention how we all know some of the history of Salem but there is still much that has not been explored. Braga mentioned, “What uncharted territory this was…” explaining that they delved into the transcripts from the time and those reveal way more weird stuff than has been shown before. Now, you could make a show where the witch hunters were just a crazy mob or you could approach it as if witchcraft was real. Simon explained that at the time, “…everybody believed in witches” and the producers and series creators wanted to “…show the world as they [the people of Salem] perceived it”. West plays a character who is not a believer. He told the audience that his characters would “…react like most of you would react” and that his character is basically the “audience POV”.

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You can check out a series trailer below!

 

‘Salem’ Renewed For A Second Season

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: I haven’t actually had an opportunity to check Salem out yet, but from the series’ full trailer, I’m definitely hoping to get around to it soon.

The dramatic outing has been rather successful for WGN America, as the series premiere brought in over 1.5 million viewers.

Season two will consist of 13 episodes, and will air in 2015.

Matt Cherniss, WGN America president states that “The talented cast and our great partners at Fox 21 have opened up an intriguing world that has captivated viewers. We look forward to bringing more great storytelling, scares and surprises to viewers as the saga unfolds.”

‘Salem’ Premieres This Sunday, Watch The First Trailer!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: WGN America (who is also developing a series based on Vertigo’s Scalped comic) has just debuted a full trailer for their upcoming horror/drama series Salem.

Set in the volatile world of 17th century Massachusetts, SALEM explores what really fueled the town’s infamous witch trials and dares to uncover the dark, supernatural truth hiding behind the veil of this infamous period in American history. In SALEM, witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem. The show, which centers on an epic romance wrapped around this explosive revelation, delivers a bold new vision of Salem — and an even bolder new vision of witches.

It certainly sounds intriguing, and it’s a series that I’d never heard of until today. You can take a look at the trailer below, and let us know if you’ll be tuning in when the show premieres this Sunday.