EPIX’s new supernatural drama From finds strangers mysteriously trapped in a small town somewhere in America. None of the residents set out to visit this creepy town and there’s no obvious way to escape. And as if being forced to take up residence in a crazy town wasn’t bad enough, nightmare creatures inhabit the nearby forests and prowl the streets for potential victims every nightfall.
From was created by executive producer John Griffin and has executive producer Jeff Pinkner guiding the series as showrunner. Pinkner reunites with his fellow Lost executive producer Jack Bender for this twisted series that has a Lost-ish vibe.
The Lost connection extends to include one of the series’ stars, Harold Perrineau, who plays Boyd Stevens. The season one cast also includes Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) as Tabitha Matthews and Eion Bailey (Once Upon a Time) as Jim Matthews.
The series’ stars and executive producers recently took part in the 2022 Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, sharing insight into what’s in store for the first season that kicks off on February 20, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT on EPIX.
John Griffin explained that the premise came from the question of what would happen if life as you know it was suddenly snatched away and your reality transformed into a literal nightmare. “What kind of person would you be? What kind of person would you become? And that idea was really at the heart of where the show first began and everything kind of grew from that,” said Griffin.
Executive producer Jeff Pinkner agreed. “I think, as John said, the mythology is central to the show of course but really I think – like all great genre – we were looking for an opportunity to tell a story about people. And everything else is really just designed to be either pressure points or a goal; either the thing you’re afraid of or the thing you’re hoping for. And the story takes place between those two poles,” said Pinkner.
Jack Bender said he was drawn to the project because he felt audiences would be interested in thinking about what they would do if they were trapped in a similar situation. “I think any great television has to do with who are the people we are watching in this place and time, and what if those people were us? What if…the what-if of what if we were faced with the horrifying obstacle course that these people are when they were on the road to somewhere else?” said Bender.
Bender was also intrigued by the idea that these monsters look human. “They’re not what you always see. They seem to be these lovely people who seduce you and bring you in, and the moment they hook you, it’s not good. And I thought that was a very fresh approach to – and we all work very hard together to figure out what those monsters would look, sound like, be like,” said Bender.
And speaking of the nightmare creatures, Catalina Sandino Moreno believes the creatures looking human makes their actions even more terrifying. “I mean like they’re just normal people walking towards you and that’s what makes it even scarier when you know what can they do. They’re just regular people that come out at night,” offered Sandino Moreno.
“We don’t really see them. We just see the townsfolk, the people who come to you and express something of interest. They hone in on your vulnerabilities and what you might be susceptible to and then go for that. And then when they actually do their shapeshifting – I guess you’d call it – it’s very brief which I think is really effective. It’s Spielberg’s approach to Jaws; like you don’t see a lot of the shark which makes it even more terrifying in the flashes that you do,” said Bailey.
While Sandino Moreno and Bailey’s characters are newcomers to the town, Harold Perrineau’s character Boyd has been trapped there for quite a while. Boyd’s had a longer time to deal with these nightmare creatures.
“You’ll get to see more as the series goes on, but in those very opening episodes it’s really just a matter of I really know the devastation that these creatures can cause and I’ve already experienced it. And so, for me, it’s just continuing to play the reasons that I have to protect everyone in this town and how serious that is. But you’ll see later on the effect that those monsters have had on him and why Boyd acts the way that Boyd acts,” teased Perrineau.
Eion Bailey recalled a specific scene when the young actor who plays his son became legitimately frightened by the creatures. Perrineau comforted the young actor and Sandino Moreno added that even the following day the actor confirmed he was terrified.
Jack Bender credits the entire cast with being grounded and real, even though the circumstances their characters find themselves in are horrifying. “As a director, you’re only as good as your cast and especially a show that’s focused on the humanity in the characters. And we were really blessed with the cast that we got,” said Bender. “That’s a real blessing for our show.”
Bender added: “And the one thing I wanted to say about the monsters and what John initially wrote, we all know that – as Eion said with Jaws – it’s what you don’t see that’s ultimately the most terrifying because that’s in our head. We imagine, and usually that’s scarier than what you can create. We decided we wanted to focus on the initial…we didn’t want to celebrate the attacking, the monstrous attack of the monsters or the nightmare creatures. We wanted to show the aftermath of what they would and could do as opposed to focusing on the devouring or whatever the hell they do. And I think the approach works.”
Working within a 10-episode season meant the story needed to be more contained. Pinkner promised that unlike Lost and its 22-episode seasons, From season one answers specific questions.
“I think we’re approaching every season like its own chapter with its own questions and its own answers,” said Pinkner. “We’re almost like the limitations of 10 episodes force you to make harder choices. We, John and Jack and I, have been very cognizant of making sure that the characters are asking the questions that we know that the audience is asking. The show is sort of reinforcing and playing along with the audience’s experience of the show in a way that hopefully makes it…we’re aware of what the audience is asking and looking for, and so being mindful of the questions and knowing that we have answers, and using all of it really just to focus back on what are the characters going through, really that’s the reason that we’re so enamored with our cast is we’re taking kind of a Twilight Zone-y trope and using it to explore humanity.”
In Lost, Harold Perrineau played a character trapped in strange circumstances. Asked if that helped with this role, Perrineau replied, “Yeah, I really have been through it before. And one of the things that I have to do that’s actually simple for the actor is I just have to [understand] fear is fear is fear. When you’re afraid for your life, it could be a monster or on a plane or of a bad guy, where you’re afraid for your life, you’re just afraid for your life. And then I rely on the brilliance of Jack Bender and John and the writing and the directing and the editing and all that to sell the rest of the story. So, yeah, I’ve been through it a lot and I have a lot to draw on from my life, from my work, and so I simply have to be afraid or try to be brave or be hopeful, and then I rely on our brilliant partners to fill in the rest for the audience and make that story sell.”
Jack Bender’s recent experience on Mr. Mercedes, based on the Bill Hodges trilogy by Stephen King, also helped prepare him for From.
“Everything you do you learn from. That’s the most exciting part of what I’m blessed to be able to do. And working with the maestro like Stephen King, I learned all the time. He’s the master of what makes you want to hide under the bed. But in the world of Stephen King, it’s always about – what fascinates me is the monster inside the characters, not just the monster outside the characters. And that very much was the focus of our show.
And also, one sidebar, Stephen King has written me many emails. He saw our first four episodes and he’s a massive fan of this show. I have to say that because you brought him up. He thinks it’s great, which is an honor.”
