PASADENA, CALIF.—These are not the best of times to launch a squeamishly violent television series about a serial killer.
The imagery of the massacre of 26 children and adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., is still fresh in the minds of the collective consciousness.
But Fox says its new show, The Following, premiering Jan. 21 at 9 p.m., about a former FBI agent (Kevin Bacon) who is called out of retirement to track down a serial killer, does not glorify violence. At its root it is “a thriller with a provocative story,” co-creator Kevin Williamson told a crowd at the Television Critics Association conference this week.
He said he was inspired by the shootings at Columbine when he wrote the script.
“It’s meant to be a work of fiction. It’s shining a light on those kids, or maybe it’s a bored housewife. It’s what is that hole that is missing in your life, and if you can follow someone who can fill that hole maybe you will follow them to that really dark place.”
Williamson said he was “traumatized” by the events in Newtown last month but said he was just “a storyteller.”
Canadian star Shawn Ashmore (Iceman in the X-Men trilogy), who plays a fellow agent in series, concurs with Williamson, saying the show does not exploit violence for ratings.
“Honestly, I don’t think it glorifies violence. I think you see the reality, I think you see how families are affected. It’s not a romantic view of violence, this is as real as it gets,” Ashmore said in an interview with the Star at the TCA conference.
“It’s ultimately about good versus evil. We’re trying to get a psychopath off the streets, and it’s emotionally torturing when we lose these people,” said Ashmore, who flew in from pc28to attend the conference.
Fox Entertainment chair Kevin Reilly as well as Williamson (The Vampire Diaries) came under some tough questions about launching such a violent show given the environment.
Bacon, who is starring in his first television show, said he has been looking to do television for several years.
“I couldn’t put the script down. I look at what’s happening with the relationships and hopefully that’s what people will latch on to,” Bacon said. “Given the fast pace (and) kind of heart-pounding nature of it, it still had a lot of great heart and a certain kind of sentimentality that I really responded to.”
Ashmore said he did extensive research into serial killers before the start of shooting.
“I watched as much as I could about serial killers and graphic violence to get an understanding of what was out there,” he said.
His best moment on set was the first table read with Bacon.
“I was just thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, I get to work with Kevin Bacon.’ He’s a great guy and really easy to work with,” Ashmore said.
“The nature of our relationship is sort of me being the eager beaver and looking up to him. It’s a fun dynamic.”
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