NBC’s Wizard of Oz update is something completely different and could become your new TV obsession .
A cross between Game of Thrones and Hannibal might not be what first comes to mind when you hear that a reboot of The Wizard of Oz is happening, but after you see this thing you won't be able to imagine any other take on this source material.
The cast and crew of NBC’s upcoming Emerald City treated fans at New York Comic Con this weekend to a preview of the first half of the show’s two-hour pilot. The modern reboot of L. Frank Baum’s classic story is a show that is hard to define. This is a version of Oz that could double for Westeros where Dorothy is Hispanic and carries a gun as her faithful Toto is a snarling German Shepherd.
Don’t expect to find caroling Munchkins or Horses of a Different Color in this world. Much of the panel’s focus was centered on discussing the decisions made in this ambitious update and why such a facelift is being given to the property. Executive producer Shaun Cassidy spoke about actually inheriting the source material from Baum himself and was eager to try and do new things with the classic property. Even though The Wizard of Oz has seen numerous iterations at this point, he still felt things could be pushed to a more modern place.
The other big reason to get excited about this new series is that acclaimed visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Fall) is directing all ten episodes of the series. Singh has an incredible eye and the visuals that are shown off during the first half of the pilot are truly remarkable.
Cassidy detailed how the original plan was just to persuade Singh to direct the pilot, but once he got invested in this world he began to insist that he direct all ten. “It’d be like someone sleeping with your wife,” Singh joked when talking about the prospect of other directors coming in and getting a piece of the pie.
While Adria Arjona who plays Dorothy is the obvious star of the show, Singh was continued to be heralded as the star of the panel as his dedication to Emerald City beamed. The panel brought up that they actually had to build roads to get to several of the unique locations that Singh chose from Spain and Budapest to achieve the show’s specific look. That’s insane dedication. Singh also revealed that he hasn’t even seen the original Wizard of Oz movie and truthfully is not that familiar with it. He explained that not holding the film on such a pedestal allowed his new take on the material to grow even stronger.
Other highlights included Vincent D’Onofrio (who plays the infamous Wizard of Oz) explaining that he was drawn to this role due to the fear and expectations involved in playing such a character. Ultimately though D’Onofrio explained that it’s the character’s whole “behind the curtain” metaphor for not liking who he is that fascinated him the most about this take on the character.
Furthermore, Arjona explained that the series’ original mandate was not to feature a Hispanic Dorothy, it’s just how things ended up working out. The production didn’t allow any factors like that to get in the way of the audition process though, and it’s partly why the show’s background resembles such a mosaic.
Emerald City is without a doubt one of the most gorgeous network series that you’ll see next season, but after hearing the passion behind the project and the unpredictable places that the trajectory of the series will go, I’m even more excited about the potential behind this Oz update. We’ll continue to report details on Emerald City as they come in, with the series’ momentous two-hour premiere tornadoing onto NBC on January 6th.