Freeform (formerly ABC Family) has a lot of great programming currently on its slate. And with the cabler’s recent announcements at their annual Upfront presentation, a lot more are either coming soon or are in development.
One show we are particularly looking forward to is the part coming-of-age story, part supernatural-horror story series Dead of Summer.
Below we’ve broken down why we’re excited for and looking forward to the new show.
Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis and Ian Goldberg | If you’ve never heard of the names Adam Horowitz or Edward Kitsis, then you are sorely missing out. The duo were Executive Producers on ABC’s cult phenomenon LOST, and both are responsible for creating the alphabet network’s fairy-tale-drama-with-a-twist Once Upon a Time, two shows that we were/are just obsessed with. Together with Ian Goldberg, who serves as Producer on Once Upon a Time, the trio created Dead of Summer, Freeform’s new anthology series. With these three on board, you can expect the show to be smart, have strong writing, and have a lot of jaw-dropping twists and turns!
Since Freeform is part of Disney/ABC, we’re hoping that the show will air promos on ABC during Once Upon a Time. “From the Creators of Once Upon a Time…” the promo would say. This would bring in a large audience to Summer. And lastly, since Kitsis and Horowitz are from LOST and they hid tons of awesome Easter Eggs on the fairy-tale drama, we’re hoping for some Easter Eggs on Summer as well! I can already imagine Apollo Chocolate Bars being eaten by some of the campers!
Richard Hatem | Richard Hatem is another name to remember. His impressive long list of producing credits include Tru Calling, Supernatural, The Secret Circle, Grimm, and Witches of East End. He also created ABC’s The Gates, an ahead-of-its-time supernatural drama which we believe helped launch the careers of its stars Colton Haynes, Skyler Samuels and Janina Gavankar. In addition to Summer, he’s also got A&E’s Damien on his roster. We’re going to go ahead and give him the title “King of the Supernatural.” With his experience on all types of supernatural shows, we believe Dead of Summer is in good hands.
Normally, network brass would have to watch a pilot to get a feel of how a potential series will be like before making a decision on whether or not they will add it to their lineup. Freeform believes so much in this team of creators, writers, producers, that Dead of Summer bypassed the whole pilot process and was ordered direct to series!
Elizabeth Mitchell | On a teen-skewing network like Freeform, it’s important that its series cast hot, young talent. But on Dead of Summer, it’s the adult cast that is grabbing our attention. Like millions of others, we first discovered Elizabeth Mitchell on the MASSIVE sci-fi series LOST. We fell in love fast with her character Juliette Burke, and is possibly our most favorite character from the entire series. Our love for Juliette transferred onto her portrayer, Elizabeth Mitchell, who is adorable beyond words. If you don’t fall in love with her after watching this video of LOST‘s season 3 bloopers and hearing her infectious laugh, then you’re dead inside.
Since her time on the island, we’ve followed her TV career from ABC’s V, to NBC’s blackout drama Revolution. She recently reteamed with Horowitz and Kitsis on Once Upon a Time, where she played Ingrid, a snow queen in search of a family, in the drama’s take on Disney’s blockbuster Frozen. Horowitz, Kitsis, Goldberg and Hatem are great; Elizabeth Mitchell is the sweet icing on the already-delicious cake. We can’t say it enough: we love, Love, LOVE her!
Tony Todd | If you ask any horror-movie buff to name the biggest stars in the genre, Tony Todd will undoubtedly be on their list. Todd is a horror ICON, up there with the likes of Kane Hodder and Robert Englund. Movies from these three stars played a very important role in the lives of millennials everywhere. The addition of him to the Dead of Summer cast is kind of a BIG deal!
He’s very active on social media, and we just love that he always makes time for his passionate fans. His role on Dead of Summer is being kept under wraps, but we’re thinking his character has some supernatural stuff going on. I mean, come on– you don’t hire someone like Tony Todd and have him play a regular camp counselor, amirite? His role is most definitely going to be extra juicy, with a lot of pulp!
Campy Horror | Horror is one of our favorite genres. So when we heard that Freeform had greenlit a new supernatural-horror series, we were all in. Sure, the network has its flagship series Pretty Little Liars, but that is more of a thriller than horror. The Friday the 13th series did for camping what Jaws did for swimming, so we’re totally digging the summer camp setting.
Now that ABC Family has been rebranded as Freeform, we hope Dead of Summer can up the ante, push the envelope and up the chills, thrills and gore. And with all the people listed above attached to the new series, we believe that we will not be disappointed, and we absolutely can’t wait.
What about you, Campers? What are you looking forward to in the new show? Let us know in the comments below!
Dead of Summer premieres Tuesday, June 28, at 9pm on Freeform.