TV
[Trailer] Documentary Series “Hellier” Explores Extreme Weirdness in the Appalachian Mountains
One of the more interesting press kits we’ve ever received came across my desk over the weekend, courtesy of Planet Weird and in promotion of their upcoming original documentary series titled “Hellier.“ Essentially, the press kit was laid out like an “X-Files” style dossier, teasing the 5-part series in a way that left me dying to binge the whole damn thing.
Here’s what I learned about “Hellier.”
The five-part, cinematic documentary series following an investigation into unsolved mysteries, impossible synchronicities, and a web of high strangeness which stretches from the heart of Appalachian coal country.
Driven by a plea for help from a man under supernatural assault, a small crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences leads them to a decades-old mystery with far-reaching implications.
“In 2012, paranormal investigator Greg Newkirk was contacted by a frightened man named David, who claimed that small, humanoid creatures were emerging from a long-abandoned mine shaft on his rural Kentucky property. After enduring a series of nightly assaults by the strange entities, David shared a collection of stunning photographs of three-toed footprints – and even the creatures themselves. Then, David disappeared.”
“In the years that followed, the case only became stranger for Newkirk and his wife, Dana, as they fielded more emails from mysterious figures and tracked down historical leads from Appalachian locals. Then, in 2017, prompted by an impossible synchronicity, director Karl Pfeiffer and fellow investigator Connor Randall rendezvoused with Greg and Dana to unravel the dangling threads of the mystery once and for all. They travel into the shadows of the Appalachian mountains, to the source of it all, where a dwindling town named Hellier buries its secrets in the ancient caverns deep beneath the earth.”
“Aided by reluctant locals, cutting-edge parapsychological methods, and a trail of breadcrumbs left by occultists and UFO researchers decades before, the investigators uncover a mystery with frightening and far-reaching implications: the phenomena is bigger than Hellier, and someone – or something – has noticed them.”
“Hellier” premieres all episodes on Friday, January 18th at 12:01 AM ET on multiple streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vimeo and Hellier.TV.
Check out the trailer below.
One of the best new series of the year, Apple TV’s hit series “Widow’s Bay”, is also now an Emmy nominee in multiple categories.
The 78th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay and will air live on September 14 on NBC, streaming on Peacock, and nominations were announced this morning. Jeff Hiller, who plays government employee Dale in the series, was on hand to deliver the announcements.
“Widow’s Bay” has officially been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. Lead star Matthew Rhys has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Widow’s Bay”.
Dale Dickey and Kate O’Flynn have both earned noms for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Also earning a nomination is Stephen Root for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Betty Gilpin earns a nom for Comedy Guest Actress while Hamish Linklater lands a spot on the Comedy Guest Actor list.
But wait. There’s more.
The Emmy nominations for “Widow’s Bay” also include:
- Production Design for Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
- Casting for Comedy Series
- Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)
- Directing for a Comedy Series – Hiro Murai
- Editing for a Single-Camera Comedy Series – Isaac Hagy
- Editing for a Single-Camera Comedy Series – Kyle Reiter
- Editing for a Single-Camera Comedy Series – Jen Bryson
- Music Composition for a Series
- Music Supervision
- Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour)
- Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour)
- Writing for a Comedy Series
That’s 19 total nominations. All of it well deserved.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his “Widow’s Bay” review for Bloody Disgusting, “Season One makes a perfect first impression, and its debut is strong enough that viewers will want to set up permanent residency there. There’s an excellent sense of storytelling, character development, and an engaging mystery that’s strengthened through pitch-perfect horror and comedy.
The series takes place in a quaint island town 40 miles off the coast of New England and follows the town’s mayor as he attempts to revitalize the community despite a very pesky curse that unleashes horror of all varieties.
Season one is directed and executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Hiro Murai (“Barry“, “Atlanta”). Murai helms five of the 10-episode season, in addition to directors Ti West (The X Trilogy, “Them”), Sam Donovan (“Severance”), and Andrew DeYoung (Friendship).
The inaugural season wrapped last month and has already been renewed for season two.
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