Kevin Williamson's 'The Following'

[Sawyer]

Serial Killer Drama From Kevin Williamson Lands At Fox With Put Pilot Commitment
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: After successfully adapting two young-adult book series for the CW — The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle — Kevin Williamson took out an original drama pitch this season. Now, after interest from multiple networks, that pitch just landed at Fox with a put pilot commitment. The untitled project, from Warner Bros TV and Williamson’s studio-based Outerbanks Entertainment, is described as an edge-of-the-seat thriller about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and the FBI agent who finds himself in the middle of it. Dawson’s Creek creator Williamson, whose writing debut was the 1996 serial killer/horror smash Scream that launched the movie franchise, will write and executive produce the Fox drama project. WME-repped Williamson is co-running Vampire Diaries with Julie Plec after the two developed the vampire drama together. He is shepherding Secret Circle with fellow executive producer Andrew Miller, who penned the original script for the show.

Hopefully since this has been given a put pilot committment, it will end up going to series.

In Williamson I trust.

[Ultra Lantern]

When this show comes out,I'll be watching it.

[Sawyer]

I wonder.... Kevin Williamson has mentioned, on multiple occasions, his love for 24's storytelling.

Might this essentially be his 24, but with serial killers instead of terrorists?

[TwilightPro101]

Sounds more interesting than I thought it would be.

I'll definitely be tuning in.

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/fox-...-drama-pilots/

Fox has picked up two more pilots, both dramas that had put pilot commitments — a serial killer project from Kevin Williamson and a legal drama from Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim. Both projects are produced by Warner Bros. TV where Williamson and Berlanti are based.

The untitled Williamson project is described as an edge-of-the-seat thriller about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and the FBI agent who finds himself in the middle of it. Vampire Diaries co-creator/executive producer Williamson, whose writing debut was the 1996 serial killer/horror smash Scream that launched the movie franchise, wrote the script and is executive producing.

[JustABill]

This is essentially kinda of loosely what he wanted for Scream 3 before the Weinstiens kicked him off. One mastermind Ghostface controlling a bunch of other littler Ghostfaces to kill.

So I'll definitely be interested in giving this a go.

[Sawyer]

I didn't know that this was his original concept for Scream 3. It's too bad that isn't what we ended up getting. But if he can turn that concept into a longer, over-arching mythology, I'm more than intrigued.

I wonder if he's going to try to woo any Scream actors into this. I believe I read on IMDB that he originally wanted Neve Campbell to play Isobel on The Vampire Diaries. I wonder if he'll have more success with this series..... at the very least, I'm sure Skeet Ulrich needs something to do.

[JustABill]

If Neve had been on Vampire Diaries in that role I probably would've actually CARED when that character died.

I'm sure he'll manage to make this more of a weekly thing, but then again so far shows about killers that run on a weekly basis so far have sort of fared really badly.

Skeet could be the FBI Agent I suppose, I can see that.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by JustABill

If Neve had been on Vampire Diaries in that role I probably would've actually CARED when that character died.

I'm sure he'll manage to make this more of a weekly thing, but then again so far shows about killers that run on a weekly basis so far have sort of fared really badly.

Skeet could be the FBI Agent I suppose, I can see that.

Yeah. I mean, I liked Mia Kirschner just fine, but she was just such a cold fish in her last episode. Which I guess works, given that Isobel had turned off her humanity, but still.

[Sith Scotti]

Sounds cool but I worry about this being on network tv especally Fox , please ship it off to FX

[Sawyer]

From IGN:

IGN: Lastly, I wanted to ask you about your new pilot at FOX.

Williamson: Well, it just got picked up, so we're just getting going on it. I'm super excited. I've been wanting to do this show since like Scream 1. The timing worked, because I got to sit down and figure it out and actually write it and it's sort of a culmination of everything I've been thinking of in the last three years. Particularly with the storytelling of Vampire, which is very fast-paced, very twists and cliffhangers – I want to do a rollercoaster ride, and that's what it's going to be, if it gets picked up. We'll shoot the pilot and see what happens.

It's about serial killers, so it's more grounded in the real world and it's sort of where we are today with social media and the world around us and how easy it is… It's based on the premise that the FBI estimates that there's around 300 active serial killers in the United States every day. What would happen if they got together? So that's kind of where the jumping off point is, but we back it up and tell it from the very beginning. It involves some flashbacks and it's very emotional. You get to know your characters. You really hope they don't die! It's about an FBI agent and his attempt to take it down.

IGN: I read that it was about a serial killer sort of leading a cult of other serial killers. Is that correct?

Williamson: A little bit, yeah. I mean that's a little left of what it is. You know how it's easy to say the word "cult?" But I don't know if cult is the actual right word. I don't know what word to use. But it's about a serial killer who escapes from prison seventeen days before he's to be executed and he's on the run. They're trying to track him down and bring him in. Unfortunately, they quickly realize he had help. And now it's trying to figure it all out. It's a web. It's basically a web of serial killers.

IGN: So he had some pretty scary help, I take it?

Williamson: Yeah. And then people just start dying. And it's happening faster than they can figure it out. We have a really great character, the FBI agent, who takes it so personally. And he's just too sympathetic with the victims and he just takes it far too personally and he responds almost as badly as the killers. It's sort of cat and mouse. It's like 24 – a fast paced type of show.

[Sawyer]

Marcos Siega will direct the pilot...

EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Williamson and David E. Kelley have tapped directors-producers of their existing series to helm their new pilots. Marcos Siega, who directed the pilot for Williamson’s hit Vampire Diaries and served as a co-executive producer on the CW show, will direct Williamson’s untitled Fox drama pilot.

The untitled Kevin Williamson project is described as an edge-of-the-seat thriller about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and the FBI agent who finds himself in the middle of it. Siega directed the pilot ABC’s Charlie’s Angels last season.

Charlie's Angels pilot notwithstanding, the guy is a good director. He's done a handful of Dexter episodes, so if anyone could pull off this premise, it's him.

[Hunter Rider]

I like the sound of the premise, is this set to be a pilot for this fall?

[Sawyer]

Yeah, it's been given a pilot order. They should begin casting soon and then filming. And we'll find out whether it'll get picked up or not around May.

[Kaleb]

Yeah liking the sound of this a lot.

[Hunter Rider]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I wonder.... Kevin Williamson has mentioned, on multiple occasions, his love for 24's storytelling.

Might this essentially be his 24, but with serial killers instead of terrorists?

I didn't know he was a 24 fan but that show crossed my mind when I read the structural idea of this, and he sort of confirms your theory in that IGN interview.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Yeah, it's been given a pilot order. They should begin casting soon and then filming. And we'll find out whether it'll get picked up or not around May.

I hope they cast an older, badass guy in the lead, like CBS did with Jim Caviezel in Person of Interest.

[Sawyer]

From Collider:

How did your Fox pilot come about? What made you want to do a show about a serial killer?

Williamson: I’ve been wanting to do that for 15 years. Ever since the first Scream movie, I’ve wanted to do this show.

What the premise of the show?

Williamson: It’s about a serial killer who escapes from prison. He was a college professor, and he killed all of these girls on a college campus, a la The Gainesville Murders, which was the impetus for Scream 1. He escapes from prison, and you realize that he had internet access, the whole last four years of prison, and he made a few friends while he was there. He escapes and you suddenly realize that there’s a cult of killers out there, who have been working with him and helping him kill. It’s like 24, but instead of terrorists, it’s serial killers. You’ll be routing for the FBI agent who is going to bring him down. It’s very emotional. It’s this huge, big, hybrid show like The Vampire Diaries, where it relies on the twists and turns, and the tears, where you just get so invested in the characters and you’re like, “No, not that one,” and then they die. It’s one of those shows.

Do you have a cast in place yet?

Williamson: No, not yet. It just got picked up. I’m very excited, but now I’ve got to make the show. Julie is helping me. We made a deal that, if I help her with the vampires, she’ll help me with the serial killers. We’re continuing to work together. It’s very sad and pathetic, but she lives four doors down from me now. We actually bought houses in the same neighborhood because we could not be apart from each other for too long. It’s really pathetic.

Do you ever get to a point where you wish these ideas would just stop coming, so that you don’t have to balance so many shows at once?

Williamson: Hey, I’m happy someone is hiring me. It could be all over. I’m so lucky to have a job. I’m so lucky that The Vampire Diaries happened. I’m so lucky that Warner Bros. pays me money. You have no idea. I should be on a fishing boat with my dad.

I'm way too pumped for this when its only at the pilot stage. I really should've learned my lesson with 17th Precinct. If Fox doesn't pick this up, I'll be blown away.

[Sawyer]

Deadline:

Kevin Bacon To Star In Kevin Williamson’s Serial Killer Fox Pilot
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Bacon is headed to primetime. I’ve learned that the feature actor is set to topline Kevin Williamson’s Fox drama pilot. This marks the first major series role for Bacon who had been heavily pursued by broadcast and cable networks for years. But in a twist, I hear that Bacon has committed to doing 15 episodes a season vs. the standard 22 for a broadcast series. That lightens the load on the actor who can continue to do multiple features a year and spend time with his family. It also plays into Fox’s strategy of exploring new ways for airing shows, something Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly talked about at TCA last month. The high quality of many cable drama series has been attributed in part to shorter seasons that allows for tighter, more impactful storytelling.

The untitled Kevin Williamson project, from Warner Bros TV and Williamson’s studio-based Outerbanks Entertainment, is described as an edge-of-the-seat thriller about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and a retired FBI profiler (Bacon) who finds himself in the middle of it. The genre of the project and the casting of Bacon is reminiscent of Fox’s signature thriller 24, which also tapped a feature actor, Kiefer Sutherland, for its lead. Marcos Siega recently signed on to direct the pilot, written and executive produced by Williamson, creator of Dawson’s Creek, the hit Scream horror movie franchise and co-creator/executive producer of the CW’s Vampire Diaries and Secret Circle.

After a handful of TV jobs very early in his career, Bacon quickly segued to features. His only TV gig over the past 3 decades was his starring role in the HBO movie Taking Chance, which earned him a Golden Globe and an Emmy nomination. He just wrapped R.I.P.D and will next be seen in the Billy Bob Thornton-directed Jayne Mansfield’s Car, which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival. Bacon, repped by WME and the Schiff Co., was most recently seen in X-Men: First Class last summer.

Oh...... My..... Gawd.....

[Randal Graves]

Wow. Makes me wonder who they'll cast to go up against THE BACON.

[Sawyer]

Makes me wonder too. Are they going to go with a big name for the lead killer or someone less well known.

[Prison Mike]

I was hoping Bacon would be the serial killer

[Randal Graves]

Originally Posted by Prison Mike

I was hoping Bacon would be the serial killer

Me too.

[JustABill]

Yeah, Bacon as the serial killer would have been more interesting, but hot damn.

[Shifty]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

From Collider:
I'm way too pumped for this when its only at the pilot stage. I really should've learned my lesson with 17th Precinct. If Fox doesn't pick this up, I'll be blown away.

Bacon makes everything better. They can stick this on Monday nights in 24's old timeslot and air all 15 episodes in a row with a January 2013 premiere. Likely do a two hour season premiere.

This is the best sounding network pilot out there.

[Sawyer]

kevwilliamson Kevin Williamson

Everybody cut footloose and by cut I mean sharp blade, lots of blood, serial killer style.

Oh that Kevin Williamson...