Masters of Horror Moved to NBC and Renamed… Fear Itself?
Here’s an unexpected little story that could potentially be a major disappointment for horror fans. After the success of the first two seasons of the Masters of Horror anthology series on Showtime, Mick Garris and the rest of his team have been approached by NBC to bring a similar series to primetime network TV. The Hollywood Reporter informs us that Lionsgate have teamed up with the Masters of Horror folks to create Fear Itself, which will feature “60-minute films by big-name horror writers and directors”. NBC has ordered 13 episodes, and production is scheduled to start early in 2008.
Now, the big question is, will Fear Itself be a complete replacement for Masters of Horror? From what I understand, Showtime decided to opt out of the show’s third season, which is when Lionsgate stepped in. It certainly seems like this is going to be the new incarnation of the Showtime series. The problem is that a network environment will be extremely limiting for a horror series — blood and gore will have to be borderline non-existent. I suppose there would always be the option for unrated DVD releases afterwards, but I find it hard to believe that the content wouldn’t suffer because of it. Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, doesn’t help the cause with this statement: “This is a different deal model that allows us to broadcast an increasingly popular form of storytelling and provides NBC with genre entertainment that appeals to younger audiences.” So what are we looking at… a new Goosebumps series here? This is definitely a bit worrisome. What do you think gore hounds? Is there potential for Fear Itself, or is this going to be a big waste of time?
Comments (10)
Stories can be scary without gore.
Posted by Chris on September 26th, 2007I’m with chris. I think it takes a better director to make things scary and suspenseful without the and guts.
The real problem is making it believable without the cursing.
Posted by mike on September 26th, 2007apparently the site blocker on my work computer does not allow me to type the word
B L O O D (and guts is what it was supposed to say)
F U C K
Posted by mike on September 26th, 2007Y O U
W O R K
C O M P U T E R
Why did Showtime do this? MOH was popular and critically acclaimed. And why on earth would NBC want to pick it up? Every series of imaginative fiction on the majors gets lousy ratings–and cancelled in a big hurry. Shit!
Posted by sandie abel on October 2nd, 2007Regards, Sandie
Hi All,
DO NOT WORRY. The first 10 scripts are in for “Fear Itself” and they are brilliant. We’ve got a tremendous line up of some of genre’s most masterful directors and star cast members that will bring some amazing talent to the series.
Please watch for the series on NBC in the fall. It’s sure to please the MOH fans. Don’t diss it until you’ve watched it!
With best regards,
In the Know in Edmonton, Alberta
Posted by Kim on January 2nd, 2008If it’s anything like Tales from the Darside (80’s), then i’d probably watch it.
Posted by Vee on January 21st, 2008Honestley, I just don’t see this working out. If they had put it on FX along with Niptuck and Rescue Me, I don’t think it would of been too big of a change because, come on, Niptuck is pretty graphic. However, since it is going to be on NBC, I just do not see it working. Parents will complain that it’s too whatever, be it gory, scary ect. and fans of MOH will be disappointed because it’s not gory or scary enough. I could be wrong, but I highly doubt it. I really did like shows like Tales from the Crypt and Tales from the Darkside, but to take MOH down to that level will disappoint die hard fans. I hope it doesn’t because there just isn’t enough horror or sci-fi type series on TV anymore. I mean we had TFTC, TFTDS, X-files, The Outer Limits, The Twighlight Zone, Freddy’s Nightmares and all we have had recently that I can think of is MOH, and it is being changed so I hope it works out. I’d hate to have nothing at all.
Posted by Brooke on February 12th, 2008Admittedly there were some awful episodes of Masters. Having said that, there were also some amazing and creative stories that are worth re-watching. If this show makes the move to NBC, the gore, nudity, and freedom to create something really entertaining with high resale (and re-watch) value will be severely lacking. Let’s make it clear: we are dealing a specific genre of entertainment, that, although it is in a continually changing, has its basis in violence, subversion, the supernatural, and often sexuality. And ‘Masters’ continually brought that to us, week after week. To provide the creators with the freedom to create some good stuff (and some schlock in between) they need to fewer restrictions than network television can afford them. If ‘Masters’ finds its new home/name on NBC, it would be very impressive if they created anything worth while. Horror fans, lets all just hope for the best.
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Posted by Watch Anime Online on September 8th, 2009I like to watch Supernatural and also Lost, becous the sexy cast lol. BTW found this site on google, searched for some TV Show Plot.
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