The good news is that Robert Rodriguez’s cult hit movie, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, is being made into a TV series.
The bad news is that TVWriter™ hasn’t had a shot at seeing the pilot yet.
But don’t despair, brothers and sisters, The Hollywood Reporter has:
by Allison Keene
Like the fulfillment of a prophesy, 18 years after the advent of his cult horror film From Dusk Till Dawn, writer-director-producer Robert Rodriguez has revived the storyline for a series based on its original characters and concepts. From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series will air on the El Rey network, an English-language channel geared toward Latino audiences that Rodriguez created as part of a partnership with Univision. So far, the series is the network’s marquee program, though there are other projects from Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, as well as Mark Burnett slated for later in 2014.
El Rey is surely hoping to create momentum for itself through this new series, whose story, almost two decades later, finds itself in a very different TV landscape. Supernatural and violent series are essentially the norm. Besides the draw of Rodriguez’s involvement, and a potential interest and nostalgia for some regarding the original film (the straight-to-video releases shall remain unmentioned), the challenge will be for From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series to distinguish itself on an unfamiliar channel in the midst of so many other genre shows.
As of the pilot, it seems the series may have some trouble distinguishing itself from the original film, though spread out over 10 episodes, it does promise to take the concepts deeper. Once again, the plot follows the violent Gecko brothers, a bank-robbing duo made up of smooth-talking Seth (D.J. Cotrona) and psychotic Richie (Zane Holtz). As the brothers leave a trail of blood after their latest bank robbery, they find themselves holed up at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, along with Texas Sheriff Earl McGraw (Don Johnson) and Ranger Freddie Gonzalez (Jesse Garcia), as well as a clerk and two young women who Richie has taken hostage.
As befits its Western style, violence erupts quickly and with plenty of blood, and the stand-off lasts for the better part of the premiere. Though the timeline shifts between the present and the events leading up to it, the action (and the talking, so much talking) is confined to Benny’s World of Liquor (with its helpful reminder of a sign: “Still here!”).