Let the Right One In: Showtime orders vampire series starring Demian Bichir

Five years ago, TNT assembled a pilot based on the John Ajvide Lindqvist novel Let the Right One In (buy it HERE), which previously served as the inspiration for a 2008 Swedish film directed by Tomas Alfredson (watch that HERE), my favorite movie released in that year, as well as a 2010 English-language film directed by Matt Reeves (watch that one HERE). The TNT pilot didn’t go anywhere, so Showtime had the chance to develop their own Let the Right One In pilot… and this time it worked out. Showtime has officially ordered Let the Right One In to series and the ten episode first season will begin filming in New York City in early 2022.

Directed by Seith Mann from a script by showrunner Andrew Hinderaker, Showtime’s Let the Right One In pilot centers on 

Mark and his 12-year-old daughter, whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.

Here’s a little more information: 

After she was bitten by a mysterious creature, Eleanor and her father, Mark, were forced to live in the shadows and commit shameful acts to keep her alive. When she returns to New York City, Eleanor meets a friend who reignites her desire to regain her humanity, even as her condition brings out an animalistic power.

The series will star Demián Bichir as Mark; Madison Taylor Baez as the youthful vampire Eleanor; Anika Noni Rose as Mark and Eleanor’s next door neighbor, who happens to be a homicide detective; Grace Gummer as Claire, “the heiress of a pharmaceutical empire and a brilliant scientist”; Kevin Carroll as Zeke Dawes, “the charismatic owner of a successful restaurant and one of Mark’s oldest confidants as well as one of the few people who know about Eleanor’s condition”; Jacob Buster as Peter, “who suffers the same affliction as Eleanor. When his father tests a potential cure on him that backfires, a terrifying monster is unleashed”; and Ian Foreman as Isaiah, “the quiet, sensitive, and small for his age kid who loves magic and is an easy target for the other boys at school. He does find a true friend in Eleanor, but has no idea the threat she poses”.

This Let the Right One In is produced by Tomorrow Studios. Hinderaker and Mann (who will direct more episodes beyond the pilot) serve as executive producers alongside Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements for Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between Adelstein and ITV Studios). Alissa Bachner is co-executive producer, and Bichir is a producer on the series.

I’m really not enthusiastic about the idea of a Let the Right One In TV show, and the descriptions of the new characters don’t win me over. The book and Alfredson’s movie are the only versions of this story I need, but I hope this show turns out to be good.