The people behind Fox's The Exorcist TV series are well aware of the baggage that comes with that title.
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The original Exorcistfilm has been scaring people since Captain Howdy made his debut in 1973. The Exorcist is one of those unholy pop culture touchstones that has withstood the test of time. Yes, there have been many things since that have sullied its good name, but that original flick is untouchable. So what happens when you are thrown into this beloved universe and try to make something that holds up but also has its own voice? We found out about how The Exorcist TV series set out to create it’s own stamp at an NYCC roundtable with the people behind the show.
As a fan of The Exorcist I was curious about writer and creator Jeremy Slater’s vision for the series. I asked him how he approached something so iconic. When Slater came onto the project Fox executives owned the rights to William Peter Blatty’s novel and were looking for someone to just remake the original. Slater, however, understood that he could never compete, “I came in and begged them not to do that,” said Slater. “I said, ‘You are never going to tell that story better than the original film did.’”
Slater knew that the show didn’t need the exact same story, he understood the title alone would draw people in and allow the network to create a new show and still have people tuning in. “The advantage you have been given is that you have this great title,” Slater told FOX. “You have this name recognition. People will tune in so you can tell this brand new story with brand new characters, set it in the same world. The same basic universe so that you are not writing the original story out of existence, you are not saying it never happened, it is just a continuation of the same universe.”
“When the script came along and it [said] The Exorcist on it, I was like holy crap, this is exciting,” said Geena Davis (Angela Rance). “But I was also thrilled to see that it is not a remake. Although it honors that movie and the plot includes hints that it’s the same world where that actually did happen.”
The interesting part of the show, probably the most intriguing part, is that the universe is definitely affected by something. At points it is hard to tell whether it is the fact that they have lived in a time where exorcisms have already occurred, as Slater and Davis both pointed towards, or if it is more of a comic book type of world where weird things happen but they're treated as almost normal occurrences.
In the vein of creating something new in the same universe, the series really does extend past the simple possession part of it. Slater decided to focus on characters and their relationships to one another and the outside world. Those who watch the show recognize that each episode reveals a little more about the Rance family dynamic and struggles that each of the characters face in their personal lives. It is as much a family drama as it is a horror series.
“I don’t think this is a show where you have to believe in exorcisms to enjoy it. There is so much else going on, like the family dynamic,” said Brianne Howey (Casey Rance).
“[The dynamic] is the part that makes it effective and makes it work and be so scary.” Davis adds. “We have to portray a real family with a real crisis going on, and the dynamics between us. Who approves of calling in priests and who doesn’t? It is a lot to navigate and it is on a really big scale, while at the same time it’s just this little family that it is happening to.”
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Horror, in 90 minute bursts, is really just about how many scares the writing can fit in. But when dealing with a TV series it becomes a little tougher to hold attention. A series that is simply jump scare after jump scare will only last so long before fans are bored or, worse, indifferent.
Slater believes that it’s the character development that is the key to the success of the series. “It just felt like the potential was there to really, not just scare people because scaring people is a lot of fun but it is also easy. But if you can make people cry, if you can make people care about this family, if you can get them invested in the serialized soap opera aspects of the show, that’s how you can create a show that can run for multiple years and isn’t just a one-season one-and-done.”
The ExorcistTV series is still very much trying to find its bearings. Not only does it have a lot of characters and story to cover, but it also has this name to adhere to and to live up to. So aside from the character development, how does the show grow and survive past this season?
“If we are lucky enough to get another season,” says Slater. “You will definitely see the surviving characters from season one going forward and having new adventures. But season one was always designed as a single case with a beginning, middle and end. By the end of these first ten episodes you will get a definitive answer to the possession of Casey Rance. That story will conclude and our characters will go forward.”
“My goal would be for every season to be structured around one sort of central case while building in a larger mythology on the sides,” Slater continues. “You have already seen little glimpses of that in episodes one and two and you are going to start to see a lot more. We are building in our own sort of Dharma Initiative, our own set of bad guys. The demons are here among us and they have their own agenda and their own goal and they are working towards something. Hopefully that’s what helps give the show legs so every season is [not] just another possessed person with a priest coming into help them. Hopefully by the time we get to the end of this first season you’ll know exactly what The Exorcist is and be excited to follow it for future seasons.”
It sounds a little like not all these characters are going to survive the first season. It also sounds like the ones that do will become some way involved with the future victims of the show. The Exorcist, although still standing on very shaky ground for me, might benefit from a second season where the world is already very much established and the remaining characters get to become sort of a vigilante exorcist team. I guess we will see.