Is the vampire craze over yet? It seems not! NBC brings a new short series (only 10 episodes for now) of one of the most loved vampires of all times. Dracula. The one who started it all. Based on the Bram Stoker novel, with a few twitches here and there, this adaptation debuts on the small screen today, Friday, Oct. 25 at 10p.m. Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers known for his role on "The Tudors," stars in this provocative new drama as one of the world's most iconic characters. The network has described this new series as "a twisted, sophisticated and sexy take on Bram Stoker's classic novel, proving that some stories never die."
NBC's version of Dracula is created and executive produced by Cole Haddon and written by Daniel Knauf ("Carnivàle"), with a string of other executive producers attached, such as former HBO movie exec Colin Callender, Tony Krantz ("24") and Gareth Neame ("Downton Abbey"). It was shot in Budapest with no American cast members to avoid the involvement of American unions, but by teaming up with international producers, studio Universal Television helped pay for high-end production values. Knauf says the budget "was north of 'Carnivàle,'" a series which cost about $3.7 million per episode.
Nevertheless, "Dracula" has some very mixed reviews. Mike Hale from the New York Times wrote: "Despite the requisite blood and gore [...] the production is wrapped in the kind of genteel dullness that used to indicate quality in British television imports." And Tim Goodman from The Hollywood Reporter seems to have figured out what the "problem" is with this show: "Part of the problem is that 'Dracula' is all over the map. It wants to be reimagined, apparently, but doesn't do anything dramatic like come at the book from a modern perspective or wholly reinvent elements to challenge existing notions about the dark count."
But Robert Lloyd, from Los Angeles Times thinks differently. "I quite like it. Its aspirations and its execution are perfectly in sync; there is no way that Meyers could overact, or, indeed, not act enough, that would not suit the material." And Sadie Gennis from TV Guide adds to that sentiment: "Finally, NBC has presented us with a bloodsucking alternative -- and one that will hopefully help combat the world's current vampire fatigue."
With all that said, what should we expect from the show in its premiering episode? 1) Dracula has returned to London to fight the Order of the Dragon, a historic chivalric order to which Vlad the Impaler belonged. He's seeking revenge for his wife's death, killed by the order who cursed him with immortality centuries earlier. 2) He arrives in London in the guise of industrialist Alexander Grayson, "as American as God, guns and bourbon," so be prepared to listen to Rhys Meyer's American accent, which is actually very impressive.
3) Vlad takes up a surprising partnership with Van Helsing (Thomas Kretschmann), a professor who shares a bitter hatred for the clandestine organization who murdered his family. Together, they battle The Order's tyranny on the Victorian battleground by attacking their control over the world's energy sources. 4) Renfield (Nonso Anozie) is no longer the fly-eating inmate of an insane asylum but Dracula's African-American butler, who will tell him the things as they are. Mina Murray (Jessica de Gouw), is a medical student, and Mina's beau Jonathan Harker (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), is now a "very ambitious" journalist.
Will you be tuning in tonight? Let us know in the comment section below!
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