The Twilight Zone (2019 TV Series)
From Iwe
| The Twilight Zone | ||
| Genre | Anthology Drama Fantasy Horror Science fiction Thriller | |
| Created by | Rod Serling | |
| Developed by | Simon Kinberg Jordan Peele Marco Ramirez | |
| Narrated by | Jordan Peele | |
| Composer(s) | Marco Beltrami Brandon Roberts Marius Constant (original theme) | |
| Country of origin | United States | |
| Original language(s) | English | |
| No. of seasons | 2 | |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) | |
| Production | ||
| Executive producer(s) | Simon Kinberg Jordan Peele Win Rosenfeld Audrey Chon Carolyn Serling Rick Berg Greg Yaitanes Glen Morgan | |
| Production location(s) | Vancouver, British Columbia | |
| Cinematography | Mathias Herndl Craig Wrobleski | |
| Editor(s) | Scott Turner | |
| Running time | 31–56 minutes | |
| Production company(s) | CBS Television Studios Monkeypaw Productions Genre Films | |
| Broadcast | ||
| Original network | CBS All Access | |
| Original release | April 1, 2019 – present | |
| Chronology | ||
| Followed by | The Twilight Zone (2002–03) | |
| External links | ||
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series developed by Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, and Marco Ramirez, based on the original 1959 television series created by Rod Serling. Peele serves as narrator, in addition to executive producing through Monkeypaw Productions. The weekly series premiered on April 1, 2019, on CBS All Access, and was renewed for a second season halfway through its first set of 10 episodes. The second season was released in its entirety on June 25, 2020.
Contents |
[edit] Series history
In this incarnation of The Twilight Zone that is hosted by Jordan Peele, each episode details with different topics such like bizarre incidents, supernatural occurrences, racism, social issues, fake news, alien invasions, and immigration with an unusual and unexpected twist in each one.
Notable episodes include Sanaa Lathan as a woman who discovers that her camcorder can turn back time, Chris O'Dowd as an anthropologist who studies a strange gun, Morena Baccarin as a hotel manager who finds everyone around her standing still, and Damon Wayans Jr. as church handyman who finds that he can change his town using a smaller model of it.
John Larroquette, Donna Dixon, Eric Keenleyside, Kristin Lehman, Ryan Robbins, Peter Kelamis, Ethan Embry, Gil Bellows and George Takei also worked in previous Twilight Zone projects.
While "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" goes by a path that is different from that of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," the episode "You Might Also Like" is connected with the classic episode "To Serve Man."
The episode "Blurryman" serves as a metafictional episode that has Mark Silverman reprising his impersonation of Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction. Previous Twilight Zone series had episodes with metafictional elements, notably the original series episode "A World of His Own", and the 80s revival series episode "Personal Demons".
[edit] Production
[edit] Development
[edit] Casting
[edit] Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 10 | April 1, 2019 | May 30, 2019 | |
| 2 | 10 | June 25, 2020 | ||
[edit] Season 1 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Comedian" | Owen Harris | Alex Rubens | April 1, 2019 |
| Struggling stand-up comedian Samir Wassan meets legendary comic J.C. Wheeler, who advises him to include personal material in his routines. After doing a successful routine centered around his dog, Samir returns home and discovers that not only did his dog vanish, but no one seems to remember that it ever existed. He then learns that jokes about the people in his life get laughs, but cause them to disappear from existence. After accidentally erasing his nephew, Samir starts erasing people he thinks the world would be better off without, such as a brash comedian who killed two people in a drunk driving incident. He erases his girlfriend Rena's mentor (a relationship he is jealous of), causing her to change from a successful lawyer to a struggling waitress. After another encounter with Wheeler, Samir continues abusing his power, going so far as erasing Didi, a friendly rival comedian. Rena confronts him during a set with a journal containing names of those he's erased. Realizing what he has done, Samir erases himself from existence, causing everyone previously erased to exist again. Didi, now a rising star, meets Wheeler following a set and asks for his advice as Samir appears in a mural amongst other comedians who were erased after succumbing to temptation. Kumail Nanjiani, Amara Karan, Diarra Kilpatrick, Ryan Robbins, Tracy Morgan | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" | Greg Yaitanes | Story by : Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele and Marco Ramirez Teleplay by : Marco Ramirez Based on "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" by : Richard Matheson | April 1, 2019 |
| TSD-afflicted journalist Justin Sanderson boards Northern Goldstar Airlines Flight 1015 after accepting a job offer. He discovers an MP3 player in his seat pocket and finds it contains a podcast about "the mystery of Northern Goldstar Flight 1015", which disappeared an hour into the flight. As the podcast accurately describes the progressing flight, Justin juggles control of his nerves and confiding in Joe Beaumont, a former pilot who lost his job for crashing a previous airplane and seems to be the only person who takes him seriously. He tries using clues from the podcast to avert the disaster, but every attempt results in increasing irritation and suspicion toward him. Joe offers to take control of the plane, but doesn't know the access code; Justin guesses that it is "1015", coincidentally also the time the flight took off. But after Joe overpowers the pilots and takes control of the plane, Justin realizes from the podcast that Joe is the one responsible for the crash. Joe then proceeds to finish his conversation with air traffic control before letting go of the control. The following day, waking up on an atoll. Justin learns via the next episode of the podcast that everyone survived the crash and they were rescued months later, except for him. The other survivors appear, surround him, and beat him to death as he protests that he was trying to save them.. Adam Scott, Chris Diamantopoulos, Dan Carlin, Katie Findlay, Nicholas Lea | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "Replay" | Gerard McMurray | Selwyn Seyfu Hinds | April 11, 2019 |
| While at a roadside diner with her college-bound son Dorian, Nina Harrison discovers that her old family camcorder has the power to turn back time when she presses the rewind button, and that she is the only one aware of it. A racist state trooper notices them at the diner, and later pulls them over for speeding and becoming violent with them. Nina rewinds time and convinces Dorian to pull over before they are stopped, but Lasky instead menaces them for not pulling over properly. Nina attempts repeatedly to change events. They taking a different route and stopping at a motel, where Dorian muses about fate before Lasky shows up to menace them. She goes back and tries to befriend Lasky at the diner, but this ends with Lasky shooting Dorian. Setting aside her fierce independence, Nina detours to enlist the help of her estranged brother Neil, who helps her get Dorian safely to his HBCU campus. Lasky arrives with a group of state troopers, but Nina, Neil, and the students stand their ground and record them; prompting Lasky to reluctantly leave. Ten years later, Dorian has become a father, and Nina holds onto the camcorder for security. Dorian's daughter Trinity accidentally breaks the camcorder, and Dorian persuades Nina to let go of it. He leaves to run an errand as Nina and Trinity look on. Sanaa Lathan, Damson Idris, Glenn Fleshler, Steve Harris | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "A Traveler" | Ana Lily Amirpour | Glen Morgan | April 18, 2019 |
| Alaska police sergeant Yuka Mongoyak has arrested her brother Jack, to be the annual recipient of a ceremonial "pardon" from captain Lane Pendleton at his Christmas party, which she as an Alaskan native hates. At the height of the festivities, Yuka discovers another inmate has mysteriously appeared in the station's holding cells. His name is "legally" A. Traveler, and he claims he is an extreme tourist who has heard of Pendleton's YouTube-famous Christmas parties. As Traveler becomes friendly with the guests, Yuka grows increasingly suspicious of him. Pendleton grows suspicious when Traveler reveals information he would have no way of knowing about to the townspeople at the party. When Yuka, Jack, and Pendleton glimpse antennas on Traveler's head, Traveler deflects their suspicions by claiming Pendleton is in league with the Russians. Pendleton then leaves to check on the shed that links the town's power with the nearby Air Force base, while Traveler promises Yuka that she will be in charge when "my people" take over. Yuka stops Pendleton and holds him at gunpoint at the power shed, as they witness UFOs descend from the sky. At the station, Jack shares a piece of pie with Traveler, now in his true alien form, and states things would be better with them in charge. Steven Yeun, Marika Sila, Patrick Gallagher, Eric Keenleyside, Andrew Kavadas, Gail Maurice, Greg Kinnear | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Wunderkind" | Richard Shepard | Andrew Guest | April 25, 2019 |
| Campaign manager Raff Hanks finds himself in a hospital and recounts the events leading up to his hospitalization to an orderly. Years earlier, Raff considered himself a wunderkind and had been a successful campaign manager. After he and his partner Maura fail to get then-sitting and unpopular President of the United States James Stevens reelected, Raff's career is ruined. While at the bar years later, Raff spots a news item about eleven-year-old YouTube star Oliver Foley announcing his candidacy for President. Seizing the opportunity to redeem himself, Raff convinces Oliver's parents about having him run. While the public supports Oliver, he struggles to answer questions about current issues and humiliates himself during a debate. Raff then bases Oliver's campaign around family after learning his dog is dying of cancer; resulting in Oliver winning the Iowa caucus and subsequently becoming President while his mother becomes the Vice President. Oliver takes control of the White House, prompting Raff to regret his actions. When Oliver catches wind of Raff's "treason", he reveals he lied about his dog dying to get votes before convincing the Secret Service to shoot Raff. In the present, Raff learns from the orderly that the surgeon operating on him is an apathetic child due to Oliver's having passed a law forbidding old doctors. John Cho, Jacob Tremblay, Allison Tolman, Kimberley Sustad, Lane Edwards, Erica Tremblay, John Larroquette | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Six Degrees of Freedom" | Jakob Verbruggen | Heather Anne Campbell and Glen Morgan | May 2, 2019 |
| The crew of the Bradbury spacecraft, led by Alexa Brandt, decide to head for the planet Mars after a nuclear war breaks out on earth. The crew members soon begin to turn on one another, in spite of Brandt's attempts to convince them to come together under times of stress. However, she too begins to break, devastating fellow crew member Katherine Langford. One crewman, Jerry Pierson, goes crazy and starts rambling that they are being watched, to which the other crewmen don't believe him. Later on, he is seemingly killed after going out the airlock. The crew successfully lands on Mars. It is later revealed that Jerry had been taken away by aliens and that he was correct: aliens have been monitoring the crew trying to determine if they are worth saving and pass through the Great Filter. DeWanda Wise, Jessica Williams, Jefferson White, Lucinda Dryzek, Jonathan Whitesell | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "Not All Men" | Christina Choe | Heather Anne Campbell | May 9, 2019 |
| Reporter Annie Miller is invited by her co-worker Dylan to watch a meteor shower. During the event, Dylan picks up one of the rocks, causing his attitude to change. Annie leaves early after witnessing Dylan destroy his record player. The next day, Annie visits her sister Martha who is celebrating her birthday with her husband Mike, nephew Cole, and Phil. While having cake, they hear a neighbor scream about contaminated water before witnessing most of the town's men, including Mike, partake in violent acts; with Phil being killed in the process. Dylan appears and tries to strangle Annie before she gets free and knocks him back. Annie, Martha, and Cole are later rescued and taken to a quarantine center, where they learn that a virus infected the town's water supply and affected almost all of the men. Even though he had one of the meteors in his pocket, Cole is deemed healthy, as he was able to control his rage, and revealing that the meteorites were just a placebo for the men's violent behaviors. The three are eventually allowed to leave as the news blames the incident on road rage and late-night crime sprees. Taissa Farmiga, Rhea Seehorn, Percy Hynes White, Luke Kirby, Peter Kelamis, Ike Barinholtz | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "Point of Origin" | Mathias Herndl | John Griffin | May 16, 2019 |
| Wealthy socialite Eve Martin is approached by her housekeeper and nanny Anna Fuentas who asks if her grandson can use her address as she's an illegal immigrant from Guatemala. Eve agrees while she prepares for a party for new parents. However, Anna is taken by ICE. While out grocery shopping with her daughters, Eve finds that her credit cards have been declined. In the parking lot, they are picked up by HSI. She and her husband William are interrogated by Agent Allandale. While her family is released, Eve remains in HSI custody so Allandale can figure out where she came from. The machine she is subjected to gives her the fake illusion that HSI later released her as well as visions of a ruined world. Eve is shocked to find out that Anna is an illegal alien from another dimension and that she is too. Eve and Anna manage to formulate an escape plan as they dodge HSI agents. While Anna goes in a different direction, Eve heads home where William says she can't be here. Agent Allandale arrives with the HSI agents. When Eve tells him to get out of her house, Allandale tells her to get out of "his house." Eve is taken away by the HSI to be reimprisoned as William sheds a tear. Ginnifer Goodwin, James Frain, Toby Levins, Zabryna Guevara, Karin Konoval, Michael Eklund, Robert Mann | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Blue Scorpion" | Craig William Macneill | Glen Morgan | May 23, 2019 |
| Depressed anthropology professor Jeff Storck is about to divorce from his wife despite his pleas for counseling. On top of that, he finds that his father has apparently committed suicide. While in his dad’s house, he finds a gun called the Blue Scorpion with a bullet with his name on it. At the funeral, Jeff questions why his father would kill himself. With all that's going on in his life, Jeff contemplates killing himself with the gun after testing it at a gun range. Meanwhile, Jeff’s estranged wife has begun seeing another man, also named Jeff, which gets Jeff to thinking about killing the man due to his feelings for his wife. Jeff goes to her house and shoots at his wife’s boyfriend. The bullet misses him, but hits and kills a burglar in the house, also named Jeff. In the aftermath of this after being praised for stopping the burglar, Jeff decides to rid himself of the gun that has caused him his misfortune. He throws it into the harbor and leaves. Later, the gun is found by two kids with the bullet now reading the name “Kyle” after the kid who picked it up. Chris O'Dowd, Amy Landecker, Alex Diakun, James Morrison, Adam Korson, Luisa D'Oliveira | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "Blurryman" | Simon Kinberg | Alex Rubens | May 30, 2019 |
| After rewriting the opening narration for an episode of The Twilight Zone starring Seth Rogen and Betty Gabriel for Jordan Peele, screenwriter and Twilight Zone fan Sophie Gelson discovers someone changed it to be about her. She later notices a mysterious blurry figure appearing in the background of several scenes as well as scenes from previous episodes. While searching for Jordan, Sophie encounters the Blurryman, who chases her through the studio and triggers a flashback to her childhood. After a brief encounter with Jason Priestley, she hands a new version of the narration to Jordan before finding herself in the world of the iconic episode "Time Enough at Last." When she finally encounters the Blurryman and agrees to hear it out, the Blurryman reveals himself as original series host Rod Serling. Claiming that they have "a lot of work to do," Serling escorts Sophie through a door into the Twilight Zone. Zazie Beetz, Betty Gabriel, Zibby Allen, Caitlin Stryker, Seth Rogen, Jason Priestley | |||||
[edit] Season 2 (2020)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[edit] Release
[edit] Marketing
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical response
[edit] Season 1
[edit] Season 2
[edit] Accolades
At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, Kumail Nanjiani received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for "The Comedian", the first episode of season one.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Template:Twilight Zone Template:Jordan Peele Template:Simon Kinberg Template:CBS All Access (streaming network)
