First announced in development in January 2013 and then set for a summer 2014 premiere out of “24: Live Another Day” and then pushed to midseason, the event series “Wayward Pines” finally has an official launch.
FOX announced on Tuesday (December 9) morning that the 10-episode thriller will premiere on Thursday, May 14 at 9 p.m. ET. And “Wayward Pines” won't just be rolling out in the United States. The series will be debuting in 125 countries on FOX channels throughout Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and Latin America.
The network is calling this the “world's largest day-and-date launch for a scripted series ever” and who are we to disagree?
Depending on your perspective, this either has “Wayward Pines” following in the reasonably successful footsteps established by the May launch of the “24” event series last summer, or else the less successful Thursday 9 p.m. footsteps of last summer's “Gang Related” or this fall's event series “Gracepoint.”
“Wayward Pines” is based, at least in part, on the books by Blake Crouch, but given that Crouch isn't mentioned in FOX's premiere date press release, you can imagine how dedicated the series is to the literary trilogy. [I've read the first two books in Crouch's trilogy and based on the caliber of casting, it sure looks like the supporting roles have been expanded.]
M. Night Shyamalan directed the pilot, which was written by Chad Hodge.
“Wayward Pines” stars Matt Dillon as a Secret Service agent investigating the disappearance of two federal agents in a seemingly peaceful small town. But is the town too peaceful? Are its residents too orderly and serene? Well, sure. Of course they are. They always are. But what is the secret of Wayward Pines? That's the mystery.
Because “Wayward Pines” has been in the can for a while, several members of its supporting cast will be seen in different midseason shows before this FOX drama premieres. In fact, Terrence Howard will be star in the midseason drama “Empire,” also on FOX. Juliette Lewis has “Secrets and Lies” on ABC. And Reed Diamond has been popping up on ABC's “Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” since the fall.
“Wayward Pines” also features Shannyn Sossamon, Toby Jones, Tim Griffin, Charlie Tahan and Oscar nominee Melissa Leo.
Intrigued?