There is no shortage of good genre TV out there - but that doesn’t mean we don’t have room for more. Here are four new series that we are looking forward to in 2014. These aren’t new seasons of our favorite shows; these are new shows that will bring a little extra doom and gloom to the boob tube next year.
Penny Dreadful
With Dexter officially buried at Showtime, the cabler needs something dark to take its place. Enter Penny Dreadful, a period piece set in Victorian London with literature’s darkest figures: Dorian Grey, Dr. Frankenstein and his creation, and Dracula. The series stars Eva Green (Dark Shadows), Josh Hartnett (30 Days of Night, The Black Dahlia), and Timothy Dalton (James Bond). Look for it in March on Showtime.
The Strain
Guillermo del Toro does vampires. I can get behind that. Based on the novel series he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan, The Strain envisions vampirism as a virus - and it is set to infect New York. With a pilot written and directed by del Toro, and a cast that includes Sean Astin (The Lord of the Ring), Mia Maestro (The Twilight Saga), Corey Stoll (The Bourne Legacy), David Bradley (The World’s End), and Kevin Durand (Resident Evil: Retribution), this one feels like a safe bet. Look for it in July on FX.
Outcast
The king of The Walking Dead is moving into exorcisms. Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman sold a new TV series based on his upcoming comic series, Outcast. The comic and TV show will center on Kyle Barnes, a man who has been plagued by possession ever since he was a child. As an adult, searching for answers, he discovers an answer that could lead to the end of life as we know it on Earth. If Outcast does for exorcisms what The Walking Dead did for zombies, TV will be a little darker next year. The series sold to Cinemax - can you imagine what kind of insanity will be unleashed from Kirkman’s brain on a pay TV channel? The pilot has not yet gone into production, so even if it does get picked up, there is no guarantee it will air in 2014.
Scream
This one kind of seems like a long-shot. The scripted series for MTV based on the Scream film franchise was announced in 2012, but it wasn’t until April of this year that a pilot was officially ordered. Wes Craven is allegedly on to direct, with script duties going to Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie (Revenge, Criminal Minds). No cast has been announced, and the best we can get by way of plot is that it will have nothing to do with the film franchise, and it will have supernatural elements. Um… okay. Frankly, I don’t know if the series will actually go, but if it does, MTV is looking to premiere in summer 2014, likely as a companion piece to Teen Wolf.