The world of The Purge is being opened up courtesy of USA Network and SYFY’s upcoming TV series, and franchise creator James DeMonaco just spilled some story details in a chat with EW.
As producer Jason Blum recently told us, the series will open up “an entirely new chapter in America’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness,” one that will “reveal to the fans what happens the other 364 days of the year and how that law affects people.”
DeMonaco clarifies that only a portion of the series is *not* set on Purge Night.
“I’d say it’s 70, 65 percent Purge Night and then 30 percent flashback,” DeMonaco told EW. “We follow four what-seem-to-be separate storylines of people going out on the evening and experiencing the Purge. The real estate of the 10 hours of the TV allows us to use flashback, where we flashback out of the Purge world, into the regular lives, the non-Purge days, of this future America. We get to see who these people are when it’s not Purge Night and the events that led them to where they are on the particular Purge night that we are following.”
He continued, “The real estate of TV lets us truly analyze why anyone would resort to violence on Purge Night. So, it’s a slower burn. Whereas the movies are kind of a punch in the face — you know, these big events — I think the TV show, with the real estate of it, allows us to truly analyze why anyone would pick up a gun or a knife to solve a problem. We really get to examine the night, and the intricacies of the evening, and the nuances of the evening, and the different kinds of people who are out on the streets in a way that I just couldn’t do in the movies.”
The series’ cast includes William Baldwin (Backdraft), Lili Simmons (‘Ray Donovan’), Amanda Warren (‘The Leftovers’), Colin Woodell (Unsane), Hannah Anderson (New Mutants), Lee Tergesen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, “OZ”), Gabriel Chavarria (‘East Los High’) and Jessica Garza (‘Six’).
Anthony Hemingway will direct the premiere episode.
From indie studio Blumhouse Television (HBO’s “The Normal Heart” and “The Jinx”) and Universal Cable Productions (Amazon’s “Homecoming” and USA Network’s “Mr. Robot” and “The Sinner”), “The Purge”, which will air on USA Network and SYFY, will be executive produced by the film franchise creator James DeMonaco, and led by Jason Blum. Additionally, the entire team behind the blockbuster film franchise are on board to executive produce: Michael Bay with Brad Fuller and Andrew Form under the Platinum Dunes banner and Sebastien K. Lemercier. Thomas Kelly serves as executive producer/showrunner of the series.
