A two and a half minute featurette of producer Ridley Scott discussing the upcoming AMC series The Terror has been released, and it takes almost two full minutes before there's a hint of why this show has our attention here at Arrow in the Head. Up to a certain point, this just looks to be a historical drama with incredible production value for a TV show – it's no wonder AMC keeps cheaping out on The Walking Dead decisions when they have to pay for something like this, too! Vast, snow-covered landscapes, ships busting through ice, underwater photography. Wow.
And then Scott mentions, "The fiction side of the story is this monster."
We don't get to see this monster, but we see its shadow moving around, people screaming (presumably because of the monster), and talk of cuts caused by something stronger than a human.
Based on the 2007 novel by Dan Simmons, the 10 episode first season of The Terror followsÂ
the Royal Navy as it embarks on a dangerous journey into uncharted territory in order to discover the Northern Passage. All the while they struggle to survive treacherous conditions, limited resources, frostbite, fear of the unknown, dwindling hope, frostbite, and, probably worst all, each other.
The horror aspect gets left out of that particular synopsis, which doesn't mention that the expedition crew
is attacked by a mysterious predator that stalks the ships and their crews in a suspenseful and desperate game of survival.
David Kajganich wrote the adaptation of Simmons' source material and serves as co-showrunner with Soo Hugh.
The Terror is a co-production of Alexandra Milchan's Emjag Productions, Entertainment 360, AMC Studios, and Scott's company Scott Free.
The first episode of the series will air on AMC at 9pm on March 26th.