2020 is set to be an exciting year for television - and the most exciting new show is Lovecraft Country. A number of great shows will return for another season, including AMC's Better Call Saul, HBO's Westworld, and even Adult Swim's absurd The Eric Andre Show. In addition, there are dozens of new shows to get excited about: Disney+ has two Marvel TV shows on the horizon, Patrick Stewart returns for CBS' Star Trek: Picard, and FX will finally air the long awaited TV adaptation of Y: The Last Man. But the most exciting new show of them all is Lovecraft Country, an upcoming HBO adaptation of Matt Ruff's novel of the same name.
Lovecraft Country takes place in the Jim Crow South sometime in the 1950s, following a protagonist named Atticus Black who sets off on a road trip in search of his missing father. It's equal parts drama and horror, and according to HBO's website, the show will be a "struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a [H.P.] Lovecraft paperback." Jonathan Majors will play Atticus, and Jumee Smollett-Bell will play Leti, the second lead. Perhaps most importantly, the series is in tremendous hands: Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams are producing the show, who are masters of horror and sci-fi, respectively.
Mixing Peele's success with Get Out and Us with J.J. Abrams' expertise in production sci-fi shows like LOST, Alias, and Westworld, it's clear that they are the perfect duo for a project like Lovecraft Country. The show is an homage to Lovecraft from top to bottom, starting with its title. Atticus always keeps a pulp novel in the back of his pocket, to the chagrin of his father (Michael K. Williams of The Wire). The monsters in the story are designed in the style of his fiction, and also serve as an analogy to the very real monsters that are the racist white people in the Jim Crow South. Expect a wide mix of genres: horror, drama, sci-fi, and maybe even comedy, considering Peele's involvement in the series.
HBO was so enthralled with the novel that they ordered the show direct to series, which is somewhat rare – networks will often order a pilot before committing to an entire season. (Perhaps that's what the star power of Abrams and Peele can do.) French-Algerian director Yann Demange will direct the first episode, having previously directed the film White Boy Rick (which also featured the show's star, Jonathan Majors).
Showrunner Misha Green said that Lovecraft Country will be "unlike anything else on television," and considering HBO rarely puts out anything of low quality, expectations can be appropriately high. There is plenty of exciting television in store for 2020, but considering the themes, star power and ambition behind this project, we can safely say that Lovecraft Country tops the list.
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