The premium cable network announced on Monday that Demián Bichir (“The Bridge,” “Grand Hotel”) is attached to star in the show, while Andrew Hinderaker (“Away,” “The Path”) will serve as showrunner and executive producer. The pilot will be directed by Seith Mann (“Homeland,” “Blindspotting”), who will also serve as an executive producer. Per Showtime, the official synopsis reads: The series centers on a father and his 12-year-old daughter whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while Mark does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.
The original “Let the Right One In” novel was written by John Ajvide Lindqvist and became a bestseller. The novel’s success led to a Swedish-language 2008 film adaptation from director Tomas Alfredson, which received critical acclaim and a strong cult following. An English-language remake of the film from Matt Reeves, titled “Let Me In,” released in 2010 and also received critical praise. “‘Let the Right One In’ quickly establishes itself as a thrilling, high-stakes drama that asks the question: How far would you go to save your child from the monsters out there — would you risk becoming a monster yourself?” Amy Israel, Showtime’s Executive Vice President of Scripted Programming, said in a statement. “Demián Bichir is one of the world’s most dynamic and engrossing actors, and his charisma and vulnerability will surely bring Andrew Hinderaker’s exquisite script to life, guided by Seith Mann’s deft direction. We couldn’t be more excited about the potential of this show.” “The series is both a love letter to the original film, and a story entirely our own,” said Hinderaker. “And casting a true artist like Demián epitomizes our bold aspiration to be one of the most terrifying shows on TV, and one of the most moving.” Showtime’s pilot order does not mark the first effort to adapt “Let the Right One In” for the small screen: TNT was rumored to have picked up a pilot for a series adaptation in 2016 but IndieWire reported in 2017 that the project was axed before production began. The TNT series, written by “Teen Wolf” and “Criminal Minds” creator Jeff Davis, was originally planned to run on A&E back in 2015. Alfredson’s 2008 film has endured as one of the most critically successful vampire films in recent memory; IndieWire’s Eric Kohn lauded the film in IndieWire’s 2017 rundown of the best foreign-language films of the 21st century.
“Merging a Spielbergian sense of childhood awe with the dread of a darker world just outside the frame, Alfredson’s approach to gradual approach hints at menacing forces while leaving just enough up to the imagination of the viewer to fill in the gaps,” Kohn said in the article. “The filmmaker displays an extraordinary ability to use suggestive details about the nature of the vampire — in addition to the contrast between her morbid powers and the face of an innocent child—to maintain a horrific foundation thick with possibilities” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
