Netflix Gets First Dibs on Eli Roth’s Murder Series
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Despite the hit that Netflix took last year when it decided to change the format of how it charged it’s customers setting off a chain reaction of backlash, it looks like it still is able to swing quite a bit of might. According to a statement released by the company, it will be the first to show Eli Roth’s first serialized endeavor, Hemlock Grove.
The series is said to take place in a dilapidated steel town in Pennsylvania and centers on an unsolved murder. Sounds a little too Twin Peaks-esque right? Not enough gore for the brutish hands of Roth? Don’t worry because it’s also sporting a cast of characters that include werewolves and other creatures of the night. The premiere of the series is set for early 2013, but will debut and remain on Netflix for some time upon its immediate release.
Roth’s choice to do his series for Netflix is an interesting move and one that may be signaling the next movement in television. Since more and more people watch their television from a computer and through Netflix, some directors may be trying to cut out the middleman of a network, who may also censor the content of the show. If you’ve ever seen any of Roth’s work (Cabin Fever, Hostel Pt.1 & 2), it’s immediately recognizable that he likes to get sadistic, gory, and intense. With the exception of HBO and FX, I simply can’t see Hemlock Grove going anywhere but Netflix.
Said Roth of the show, “I’ve been waiting for years to dive into television, and Eric Newman and I founded Arcade to do elevated genre projects exactly like ‘Hemlock Grove.’ Brian McGreevy‘s novel blew me away, and the material lends itself perfectly to long format storytelling. ‘Hemlock Grove’ is smart, dark, complex, and at times terrifying.”
We’ll all have to wait another year before it’s inevitable release, but it sounds worth it. As I reference David Lynch’s Twin Peaks earlier, Roth may be trying to make his mark in television the way that Lynch did. Though Lynch’s show only lasted two seasons on CBS, it acquired a cult following and remains a television touchstone to this day. If Roth does this right, he just may have something similar on his hands.
