Yesterday we reported Bryan Fuller’s THE MUNSTERS reboot, MOCKINGBIRD LANE, was in a state of TV limbo. Now NBC has finally announced the pilot’s fate– it’ll be a Halloween special lead-in to GRIMM airing toward the end of the month. NBC President Jennifer Salke confirmed it yesterday:
“This exciting new take on a memorable series will definitely blow out conventional wisdom and create its own legacy. Teaming this new show with a terrifying episode of Grimm makes the perfect pre-Halloween fright-fest.”
This is probably the wisest decision on NBC’s part. Rather than the do even more costly reshoots or trashing it all together, making the pilot a “special” gives it the potential to grow into something more if the ratings perform. Not only that, but when is the last time network television has had a really good Halloween-themed piece programming? Besides COMMUNITY, of course.
MOCKINGBIRD LANE airs at 8 pm October 26th. Jerry O’Connell is Herman, Portia De Rossi is Lily, Eddie Izzard is Grandpa, Mason Cook is Eddie, and Charity Wakefield is Marilyn. Though I am a confirmed naysayer of the reboot, I will be setting my DVR to record it as I just can’t say no to that cast. Check out the synopsis and eleven official stills from the pilot below and tell us whether you’ll be taking the trip down MOCKINGBIRD LANE.
In Mockingbird Lane, sweet little Eddie Munster is a normal kid about to enter the horrors of puberty. Truth is, he’s about to discover that for him becoming a teenager means growing hair in truly unexpected places– as in all over his body– every time the moon is full! Eddie’s got it pretty good though. His loving, supportive, run-of-the-mill family includes his mom Lily, the daughter of Dracula; his dad Herman, who brings new meaning to “Frankenstein”; and Grandpa, who would give Dracula a run for his money if he weren’t actually Dracula! Of course then there’s creepy cousin Marilyn, who’s really the odd one because she’s so completely normal.
Buying a house these days is a nightmare, so Herman and Lily are shocked that no one scooped up the rambling Victorian mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane that was the site of a series of grisly hobo murders. Settling into their new place, they’re quickly onto the mission at hand: to gently ease Eddie into the reality of his werewolf adolescence. But it’s not always so easy to accept that your child is a little “different” from the rest of the kids. Meanwhile, Herman, who works as a funeral director, is suffering from a heart condition. Since he’s made up mostly of spare parts, he knew his makeshift heart would eventually give out. No worries though, because Grandpa, who is pretty good at procuring body parts, is on the case. All Herman cares about is finding a new heart with the same capacity to love Lily as much as he has for so many decades.