While Orphan Black continues to win over viewers during its smashing second season, it looks like BBC America is hoping for the same kind of success with their newly announced original drama, Intruders. Adapting more thrills and chills, a brand new trailer for the show highlights a creepy atmosphere suggesting mystery and intrigue, staying in touch with their most popular show’s darker material – but will the familiarity pay off?
Based on the 2007 novel by British author Michael Marshall Smith, the story unfolds over 8 episodes, and features “a secret society devoted to chasing immortality by seeking refuge in the bodies of others.” The adaptation is written and executive produced by Glen Morgan (The X Files, Millennium, The River), with Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project) and Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) sharing the director’s chair.
John Simm (Life On Mars, Doctor Who) stars as an ex-cop who finds himself drawn into the central, murky conspiracy when his wife – played by Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino – goes missing. Rounding out the cast are James Frain (The Tudors, The Lone Ranger), Robert Forster (Olympus Has Fallen) and Millie Bobby Brown (Once Upon A Time In Wonderland).
The new trailer is quite atmospheric – clearly going for the refreshingly minimalist tactic of ‘less is more.’ There is eerie dialogue, swift, sharp violence, and creepy children looking menacingly through windows. The exciting part, however, is that this is something new. It doesn’t seem to be about the end of the world, and there are (technically) no zombies or vampires. It’s not about an alien invasion, or a horrifying viral outbreak. It has an air of paranoia, and the sinister sense of something terrible being about to happen – but it plays subtly and hooks us in with the anticipation of delivering a different experience.
Intruders premieres on August 23 at 10pm ET on BBC America. In the meantime, you can whet your appetite with the trailer below.