Pushing Daisies legend (and one of Heroes’ best writers) Bryan Fuller spent last year conjuring up a Munsters remake for NBC, with such big name talents as Jerry O’Connell, Portia de Rossi, and Eddie Izzard within he cast. The project, titled Mockingbird Lane, had a pilot directed by Bryan Singer (Superman Returns)… and then we didn’t hear anything about it for a while.
NBC is doing TV audiences a favor on Friday, October 26, though. Rather than sending Mockingbird Lane to the heap of un-picked-up pilots that are never seen by the masses, they’re airing the expensive pilot on that night before a spooky episode of Grimm. Here’s the press release about it:
As Halloween nears, NBC turns Friday, October 26 into Fright Night when it premieres the pilot of the much-anticipated “Mockingbird Lane” (8-9 p.m. ET) — based on executive producer Bryan Fuller’s (“Pushing Daisies,” “Heroes”) script and directed by executive producer Bryan Singer (“X-Men” film series, “House”). The special program leads into a haunting “La Llorona” Halloween episode of “Grimm” (9-10 p.m. ET), which will also enjoy special airings on NBCUniversal’s Telemundo and mun2.
“Mockingbird Lane” is a new reimagined version of the classic 1960s comedy “The Munsters,” now as a visually spectacular one-hour drama with a darker edge and tone. The cast includes Jerry O’Connell (“The Defenders”) as Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi (“Arrested Development”) as his wife Lily, Eddie Izzard (“United States of Tara,” “The Riches”) as Grandpa, Mason Cook (‘Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D”) as Eddie and Charity Wakefield (“The Raven”) as Marilyn.
“This exciting new take on a memorable series will definitely blow out conventional wisdom and create its own legacy,” said Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment. “Teaming this new show with a terrifying episode of ‘Grimm’ makes the perfect pre-Halloween fright-fest.”
In the original 1964-66 series “The Munsters,” the odd but lovable family lived on 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
In “Mockingbird Lane,” sweet little Eddie Munster (Cook) 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 (de Rossi), the daughter of Dracula; his dad Herman (O’Connell), who brings new meaning to “Frankenstein”; and Grandpa (Izzard), who would give Dracula a run for his money if he weren’t actually Dracula! Of course then there’s creepy cousin Marilyn (Wakefield), 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.
“Mockingbird Lane” is from Living Dead Guy Productions, Bad Hat Harry Productions and Universal Television. Executive producers include Fuller, Singer and Sara Colleton (“Dexter”). Singer also directed the pilot.
But that’s not all! They released a trailer showing how different these are from the Munsters of old (or The Munsters Today for that matter):
1 Comment
“Directed by Bryan Singer (Superman Returns)”
This is what makes me NOT want to watch it.