With so many stories about high-profile projects happening in Hollywood these days, it's almost too easy for the details of a few intriguing endeavors to slip through the cracks. Thankfully, we've now entered a brief and delicate time period between Star Wars Celebration announcements and the release of Marvel's AVENGERS: ENDGAME. In other words, it's the perfect time to update you all on Jordan Peele's LOVECRAFT COUNTY and Joss Whedon's THE NEVERS, two HBO-bound series that are now set to roll into production this summer.
Recently while conducting a fireside chat with Casey Bloys, the HBO programming chief provided The Wrap with a few updates for both promising projects.
“[Whedon] has been furiously writing the scripts,” Bloys assured The Wrap, with regard to THE NEVERS. “He’s been writing, he has a staff, and we’re shooting this summer.” Now, while Bloys was reluctant to reveal the precise start of production, it was stated that filming will take place in London during the year's sunniest season. With regard to plot, it's been said that THE NEVERS is described as an epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and are on a mission that might change the world. Sounds like a tried-and-true Whedonverse recipe, doens't it? I suppose that's because the FIREFLY and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER creative is serving as the show's writer, director, executive producer and showrunner
As for Peele's LOVECRAFT COUNTY, the mysterious project is said to have already shot its pilot episode, with Misha Green serving as showrunner. According to The Wrap, LOVECRAFT COUNTY follows Atticus Freeman as he joins up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father. This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback. Also set to join the cast of the show are Wunmi Mosaku, Aunjanue Ellis, Jamie Harris and Elizabeth Debicki.
“[‘Lovecraft Country’] is just a really cool mashup of a sci-fi, period piece, horror [series] that’s dealing with issues of race,” Bloys told the entertainment outlet. “You know, I don’t know that there’s been a show like this, so we’re really excited. I think Misha is a wildly-talented showrunner, so it’s exciting. But we’re getting started soon!”
While I find myself curious about both projects, I must confess that Peele's LOVECRAFT COUNTY sounds like it could really shake things up, especially when you consider the vast nightmare landscape of Lovecraft's timeless contributions to literature. Should the program pull directly from the horror icon's works, it won't be long before tentacle creatures and terrible gods return to wreak havoc on our reality. Call me crazy, but that sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. We'll be sure to bring you more updates on both LOVECRAFT COUNTY and THE NEVERS as they become available.