Into the Dark (TV series)

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American horror anthology series

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American TV series or program

Into the Dark
IntoTheDark.png
Genre
Country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 24 (list of episodes)
Executive producers
  • John Hegeman
  • Alexa Faigen
  • Alexander Koehne
  • Lauren Downey
  • Jason Blum
Producers
Running time 81–93 minutes
Production company Blumhouse Television
Original network Hulu
Original release October 5, 2018 (2018-10-05) –
March 26, 2021 (2021-03-26)

Into the Dark is an American horror anthology streaming television series produced for Hulu. The first season premiered on October 5, 2018, and consists of twelve feature-length episodes of television films. Into the Dark was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 4, 2019, and also consists of twelve episodes.

The series is produced by the television branch of Blumhouse Productions, with founder Jason Blum executive producing every episode. Each episode features its own ensemble casts and director, with directors including Patrick Lussier, Nacho Vigalondo, Sophia Takal, Daniel Stamm, James Roday Rodriguez and Gigi Saul Guerrero contributing installments.

Into the Dark was ordered in January 2018, and has been met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. Each episode has starred different actors, including Tom Bateman, Dermot Mulroney, Diana Silvers, Nyasha Hatendi, Suki Waterhouse, Matt Lauria, Jimmi Simpson, Keir O’Donnell, Israel Broussard, Aurora Perrineau, Clayne Crawford, Martha Higareda, Corey Fogelmanis, Jude Demorest, Jahkara Smith, Adelaide Kane, Reign Edwards, Britt Baron, Giorgia Whigham, Felicia Day, Tina Majorino, Judy Greer, Barry Watson, Dana Drori, and Megalyn Echikunwoke.

Premise[edit]

The theme of each episode is inspired by a holiday during the month of its release.[1]

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Episodes[edit]

Season 1 (2018–19)[edit]

Season 2 (2019–21)[edit]

Production[edit]

On January 9, 2018, it was announced that Hulu had ordered a first season of twelve episodes. Each episode was set to be released one month apart beginning in October 2018. The series’ first twelve episodes were expected to function as standalone stories though some narrative device or structural device was expected to connect them.[23][24][25][26][27]

On May 2, 2018, it was announced that the series had been titled Into the Dark and would premiere on October 5, 2018. Davis and Fisher were announced as the Producers and Alexa Faigen as Executive Producer.[1][28][29] On October 11, 2018, Production Designer Cecil Gentry revealed in an interview with Dead Entertainment that he was working on ten out of twelve episodes of the series.[30]

In August 2019, Into the Dark was renewed for a second season.[31] Hulu ordered nine further episodes in addition to the fifteen already ordered, bringing the total to 24 episodes. Alexander Koehne and Lauren Downey were announced as Co-Showrunners and Executive Producers. The twelve-episode second season premiered on October 4, 2019, and was originally scheduled to run through September 2020, after the first season concluded in September 2019.[32] The August and September 2020 episodes were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic;[33] they had been filmed by November 2020,[34] and premiered in February and March 2021.[21][22]

Release[edit]

Marketing[edit]

On September 13, 2018, the first trailer for the series was released.[35]

Premiere[edit]

On September 21, 2018, the series held its world premiere during the annual LA Film Festival in Los Angeles, California with a screening of the episode “The Body” at the Writers Guild Theater.[36] The episode “I’m Just Fucking with You” held its world premiere during the 2019 South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas as a part of the festival’s “Narrative Spotlight” series of screenings.[37]

Distribution[edit]

On October 11, 2018, it was announced that Sony Pictures Television had acquired the international rights to the series. Sony was expected to take the series out for sale internationally and begin its sale effort at the Mipcom market in Cannes the following week.[38]

Reception[edit]

The series has been met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 69% approval rating.[39]

The first season holds 68% approval rating with an average rating of 5.6/10 based on 163 reviews. The website’s critical consensus reads, “Into the Dark is a worthy horror anthology, offering viewers a selection of frightening and witty gothic tales like a tray of cobwebbed bonbons, making for a spooky Halloween treat.”[40] The second season holds a 71% approval rating with an average rating of 8.00/10 based on 120 reviews.[41]

Into the Dark (season 1): Critical reception by episode

Season 1 (2018–19): Percentage of positive critics’ reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes[40]

Into the Dark (season 2): Critical reception by episode

Season 2 (2019–21): Percentage of positive critics’ reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes[41]

  1. ^ An in-universe holiday started by Pooka’s cult that mirrors the Easter miracle.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Sprague, Mike (May 2, 2018). “Must-Read: Hulu and Blumhouse’s Year-Round Horror Series Gets Tons of New Info – Dread Central”. Dread Central. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  2. ^ Eddy, Cheryl (December 7, 2018). “Into the Dark’s Christmas Episode Is a Total Crack-Up, Thanks to Its Visionary Director”. io9. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  3. ^ Kohn, Eric (December 7, 2018). “Blumhouse Finally Hires a Woman Director: Sophia Takal’s All-Female Horror Movie”. IndieWire. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  4. ^ Miska, Brad (December 18, 2018). “Into the Dark”: Hulu Celebrates Valentine’s Day with the Director of ‘The Last Exorcism’ – Bloody Disgusting”. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Miska, Brad (December 18, 2018). “Hulu Collects Debts When “Into the Dark: Treehouse” Streams Next March”. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  6. ^ Donato, Matt (March 2019). “Treehouse May be the Best (and Certainly the Most Topical) ‘Into the Dark’ Entry Yet”. SlashFilm. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Donato, Matt (April 3, 2019). “Hulu’s ‘Into the Dark’ Puts a Dark Twist on April Fools’ Day With ‘I’m Just F*cking With You’. SlashFilm. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c “Hulu’s Spring/Summer 2019 Programming Slate”. The Futon Critic. April 12, 2019.
  9. ^ “Development Update: Wednesday, June 5”. The Futon Critic. June 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Maas, Jennifer (July 15, 2019). “Hulu Sets Female Coming-of-Age Horror Story “Pure” as September’s Into the Dark Movie (Exclusive)”. The Wrap. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  11. ^ Petski, Denise (September 15, 2019). ‘Into The Dark’: Halloween-Frame Installment Of Hulu/Blumhouse Series Sets Cast & Premiere Date; Unveils First-Look Teaser”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 27, 2019). ‘Into The Dark’: Kerr Smith, Reign Edwards Among 6 Set For ‘Pilgrim’ Installment Of Hulu Horror Event Series”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  13. ^ Petski, Denise (October 16, 2019). ‘Into The Dark’: Kyle Howard, Julian Sands, Angela Sarafyan Among 6 Cast In Installment Of Hulu Event Series”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  14. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (November 8, 2019). ‘Into The Dark’: Augustus Prew, Scott Evans, Ayden Mayeri Among 6 Cast In New Year’s-Themed ‘Midnight Kiss’ Installment Of Horror Anthology”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  15. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 8, 2020). ‘Into The Dark’ Sets Britt Baron, Anna Lore, Benedict Samuel, Anna Akana For Valentine’s Day-themed Installment Of Horror Anthology”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Maas, Jennifer (February 14, 2020). “Hulu’s ‘Into the Dark’ Sets Body-Switching Aliens Thriller ‘Crawlers’ as March Movie (Exclusive)”. The Wrap. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  17. ^ Rico, Klaritza (March 11, 2020). “TV News Roundup: Adult Swim Releases ‘Three Busy Debras’ Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)”. Variety. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  18. ^ Maas, Jennifer (April 16, 2020). “Hulu’s ‘Into the Dark’ Sets Pregnancy Horror Story ‘Delivered’ as May Movie (Exclusive)”. The Wrap. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  19. ^ Turchiano, Danielle (April 29, 2020). “Judy Greer, Steve Guttenberg Among Cast for Blumhouse Television’s ‘Into the Dark: Good Boy’ (EXCLUSIVE)”. Variety. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  20. ^ White, Peter (May 13, 2020). “Hulu’s ‘Into The Dark’ Sets Barry Watson, Sonita Henry, Marvin Jones III & Lilli Birdsell Among Cast For Independence Day-themed Installment Of Blumhouse’s Horror Anthology”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Miska, Brad (January 12, 2021). “Hulu’s “Into the Dark” Returns with Valentine’s Day-Themed “Tentacles”. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Verhoeven, Beatrice (February 16, 2021). “Hulu, Blumhouse TV’s ‘Into the Dark’ Finds Lead Cast for Season 2 Finale (Exclusive)”. The Wrap. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  23. ^ Holloway, Daniel (January 9, 2018). “Hulu Orders Monthly Horror Anthology From Blumhouse TV (EXCLUSIVE)”. Variety. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  24. ^ Mudano, Mike (January 9, 2018). “Hulu Orders New Monthly Horror Anthology Series From Blumhouse Television”. Paste. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  25. ^ Crucchiola, Jordan (January 9, 2018). “Hulu and the Studio Behind Get Out to Haunt You With New Horror Anthology Series”. Vulture. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  26. ^ Baxter, Joseph (January 9, 2018). “Hulu Orders Horror Anthology Series from Blumhouse Productions”. Den of Geek. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  27. ^ Squires, John (January 9, 2018). “Hulu and Blumhouse Partner for Unique Monthly Horror Anthology Series – Bloody Disgusting”. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  28. ^ Patterson, Adreon (May 2, 2018). “Hulu Renews The Handmaid’s Tale, Announces Three New Shows”. Paste. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  29. ^ Villarreal, Yvonne (May 2, 2018). “Hulu gives series order to Mindy Kaling’s ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ TV adaptation — and unveils other programming news”. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  30. ^ Morse, Chris (October 11, 2018). “Interview: A Look into the World of Hulu’s Into the Dark”. Dead Entertainment. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  31. ^ Adalian, Jordan Crucchiola, Josef (August 21, 2019). “Into the Dark Renewed at Hulu, So Get Ready for Another Year of Holiday Scares”. Vulture.
  32. ^ ‘Into the Dark’ Anthology Series Renewed for Season 2 at Hulu”. August 21, 2019.
  33. ^ EDT, Joe Reid Friday 10/2/2020 at 3:00AM (October 2, 2020). “A Taxonomy of Streaming Anthology Shows”. primetimer.com.
  34. ^ “A season for horror with into the Dark”.
  35. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon (September 13, 2018). ‘Into the Dark’ Trailer: Blumhouse Teases A Year’s Worth of Horrific Holidays on Hulu — Watch”. IndieWire. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  36. ^ McNary, Dave (August 22, 2018). “Tiffany Haddish-Ike Barinholtz Comedy ‘The Oath’ to Premiere at LA Film Festival”. Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  37. ^ N’Duka, Amanda (January 16, 2019). “SXSW: Seth Rogen/Charlize Theron Comedy, Matthew McConaughey’s ‘The Beach Bum’ Among 2019 Feature Lineup”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  38. ^ Clarke, Stewart (October 11, 2018). “Sony Snags Blumhouse’s Hulu Anthology Series ‘Into the Dark’. Variety. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  39. ^ “Into the Dark”. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  40. ^ a b “Into the Dark: Season 1”. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  41. ^ a b “Into the Dark: Season 2”. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 16, 2022.

External links[edit]


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