Author: Newsroom
SDCC HIGHLIGHTS
- At SDCC, Ballroom 20 was packed for Peacock’s 2-hour showcase of its original series, THOSE ABOUT TO DIE and TEACUP. Kicking off the event, fans were given an exclusive sneak peek at Peacock’s upcoming horror series, Teacup accompanied by a panel moderated by Damian Holbrook, TV Guide Magazine’s Senior Writer. Modern day master-of-horror James Wan, who is an executive producer alongside Showrunner Ian McCulloch, and stars Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman and Chaske Spencer teased some of the chills, thrills and gore that audiences can expect from the series, before closing out the conversation with a new teaser that announced the October 10th premiere date.
- The Those About to Die panel treated fans to a never before seen behind-the-scenes featurette and conversation moderated by Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, featruring director/executive producer Roland Emmerich and stars Iwan Rheon, Sara Martins, Moe Hashim, Jojo Macari, Dimitri Leonidas and Gabriella Pession. The group revealed everything that went into making this gladiator epic, from the stunts for the action-packed fight scenes to the VFX and production design that brought Ancient Rome to life.
- The cast and creatives behind Those About to Die were able to immerse themselves in the glory of Ancient Rome as they experienced the THOSE ABOUT TO DIE: THE CHARIOT RACE activation this morning. The activation is located at 170 Sixth Avenue right in the heart of the Gaslamp District and will be open for the full duration of Comic-Con. Tomorrow morning, Friday (7/26), Peacock and NBC will live stream the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony at the activation from 10:30am PT – 3pm PT.
ABOUT THOSE ABOUT TO DIE
THOSE ABOUT TO DIE is an epic drama set in the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition, exploring a side of ancient Rome never before told — the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most…blood and sport. The series introduces an ensemble of characters from all corners of the Roman Empire who collide at the explosive intersection of sports, politics, and dynasties.
Premiere Date/Rollout: July 18, 2024 (All episodes)
Directors: Roland Emmerich (Ep 101, 102, 103, 109, 110), Marco Kreuzpaintner (Ep 104, 105, 106, 107, 108)
Created by: Robert Rodat (Wrote Ep 101, 102, 103, 109, 110)
Executive Producers: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser, Gianni Nunnari, Robert Rodat, Stuart Ford, Lourdes Diaz, Miguel A. Palos Jr., Marco Kreuzpaintner, Herbert G. Kloiber, Martin Moszkowicz, Oliver Berben, Jonas Bauer, Charles Holland, Namit Malhotra.
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Iwan Rheon, Sara Martins, Tom Hughes, Jojo Macari, Moe Hashim, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Rupert Penry-Jones, Gabriella Pession, Dimitri Leonidas, Emilio Sakraya, David Wurawa, Pepe Barroso, Gonçalo Almeida, Eneko Sagardoy, Romana Maggiora Vergano
Studio: AGC Television
Production Companies: Centropolis Entertainment, Hollywood Gang Productions, Street Entertainment
Format: Drama Series, 10 x 60 min episodes
ABOUT TEACUP
TEACUP follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. Inspired by the New York Times bestselling novel Stinger by Robert McCammon.
Premiere Date/Rollout: October 10, 2024 (2 Episodes Weekly)
Writer / Executive Producer: Ian McCulloch (Yellowstone, Deputy, Chicago Fire)
Director (101, 102) / Executive Producer: E.L. Katz (The Haunting of Bly Manor, Channel Zero)
Executive Producers: James Wan (The Conjuring Universe, Archive 81, M3GAN), Michael Clear (Archive 81, Swamp Thing) and Rob Hackett (Archive 81, I Know What You Did Last Summer) for Atomic Monster, Francisca X. Hu, Kevin Tancharoen
Executive Producer / Author (Stinger): Robert McCammon
Cast: Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman, Chaske Spencer, Kathy Baker, Boris McGiver, Caleb Dolden, Emilie Bierre, Luciano Leroux
Studio: UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group
Genre/Format: Horror Thriller, 8 x 30 Min Episodes
A NOTE FROM IAN MCCULLOCH (SHOWRUNNER / EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
When Atomic Monster first approached me about creating a series adaptation of Robert McCammon’s Stinger—a no-holds-barred, gargantuan spectacle of a novel along the lines of The Stand, Independence Day and Mars Attacks—to be honest, I didn’t want to throw my hat in the ring. I’m not a spectacle writer. I’m a less-is-more writer. I gravitate more toward what are known as keyhole epics. Large stories told through small lenses. Think Signs, The Thing, A Quiet Place.
But here’s the thing. I read Stinger and it stayed with me. Wouldn’t leave me alone. I just couldn’t stop thinking about its razor-sharp premise, how it unfolds over the course of a single harrowing day, and about the relatable and real family McCammon puts center stage. That’s when the flash bang-light bulb idea hit…
What if I adapted Stinger in a way that honors the book and stays true to the kinds of stories I like to tell? Keep the conceit. Keep Stinger’s most effective elements. Take away the large ensemble. Take away the giant set pieces. Even take away the book’s crowded town setting. The adaptation would be like an acoustic guitar version of, say, a Radiohead song. It won’t have the production value, electronic instruments, loops, or synthesized bells and whistles but it will still have the melody, the structure, the lyrics, the real magic at the core, all the stuff that makes a great song a great song.
All of which is to say I could suddenly see exactly what to do and how to do it. Two weeks later, Atomic Monster had the script for the first episode. Soon after that, Peacock bought it. Not so long after that, both my creative and career dreams actually started coming true as more scripts were written, hires made, actors cast, sets built, and production began…
Of course, during production the series changed and evolved. Just as it should. Even the title’s different. Stinger is now Teacup. The reasons for this are too spoilery to share but watch the first few episodes and all will be revealed. Point being, the series is now very much its own thing: a puzzle-box mystery, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, a can’t-but-must look horror story, a family drama, a science fiction epic—of the keyhole variety, of course. But as singular, strange, and surprising as I hope Teacup is, all you need to do is peel away the layers, characters, situations, and mythology and look behind the thrills, chills, hairpin turns and make-you gasp reveals. Do all that and you’ll see, at its heart, Teacup is still very much standing on the shoulders of Stinger. Just as it should.
A NOTE FROM JAMES WAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)
After reading Robert McCammon’s book Stinger, the entire team at Atomic Monster felt a spark. The story had all the ingredients for a captivating series and Ian McCulloch had a vision to bring it to life in a fresh way that was both startling and darkly atmospheric, but filled with a rich sense of humanity — often lacking in edgy narratives. Add in our incredibly talented cast led by Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman and Chaske Spencer and fans are in for a true edge-of-your-seat experience.
Teacup defies easy labels. It’s a genre-bending blend of horror, mystery, and drama, with layers that unfold like a captivating puzzle. It goes beyond chills and thrills and holds up a mirror to humanity, exploring the darkness that resides within us all. We hope you enjoy this wild ride as much as we’ve loved creating it!