Comic-Con 2012: Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy Want The Following to Draw a Crowd July 17, 2012 by Lauren Tyree (POPTIMAL)

For the sake of FOX‘s midseason lineup, let’s hope there’s room for more than one serial killer on TV. The Following is set to debut soon, and it’s as engaging as it is uncommonly dark for a broadcast network. The always appealing Kevin Bacon plays retired FBI Agent Ryan Hardy, a battered drunk who’s brought back into the game when murderous maniac Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) escapes from prison to add to his body count. Hardy is the cunning cat to Carroll’s mouse as the plot unfolds to reveal the charismatic convict’s legions of worshipful groupies.

When these brainwashed followers are shown to be as ruthless as their condemned leader, Hardy throws himself headfirst into a new investigation. At San Diego’s Bayfront Hilton during Comic-Con, I checked in with Bacon and Purefoy, along with Creator/Writer Kevin Williamson, Director Marcos Siega and co-star Shawn Ashmore (Agent Weston), before viewing the promising pilot.


“I got this idea when I was first writing Scream One.” Williamson said. “I’m not a procedural guy. At the time, this idea was so different than what I’d seen on TV. And then in the last five years, we discovered the hybrid show…a show that’s about everything.” The veteran writer discussed his desire to not be restricted in genre or tone. “I knew we needed the comfort of a hero, a tragic hero…It’s good storytelling when you can get someone emotionally involved and then surprise them. This is a story of good versus evil; bag guy, good guy. It’s classic. But I wanted to spin it.” It’s a new spin, indeed, with unpredictable plot turns and bombshells throughout the first episode. “We’re really setting up a lot in the pilot,” said the creative mastermind.

“We set up a thrill ride, but then we want to give people moments to breathe.” Inside a carefully woven web of clues, symbols and disturbing themes, there’s plenty of exposition and subtlety to temper the shock. “When you’re looking at serial killers, they’re really motivated by gruesome things, and we obviously can’t show it all [on FOX],” said Williamson. “But I’m not a bloody guy. I like emotional scary.”

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