The key ingredient to any supernatural series is of course the uncanny creatures the viewer will encounter along the way — a fact that the new trailer for NBC's Midnight, Texas wears proudly on its sleeve. Of course, there are things that every show needs to get right in order to be successful (good writing and decent acting, among them), but there's a certain expectation when one tunes into a series about supernatural beings that the show will deliver some creative and spooky beasties for our heroes to tangle with. And based on the two-minute promo released by the network this Monday, Texas looks to be absolutely overflowing with them.
One of the touchstones of the genre is, of course, HBO's True Blood; so it's no coincidence that this new series is based on another series of books by the same author as The Southern Vampire Mysteries on which that long-running premium soap was based. The new NBC series was developed from Charlaine Harris' Midnight, Texas trilogy by Monica Owusu-Breen, who previously cut her teeth writing for such genre shows as Alias, Lost, Fringe, and Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it stars François Arnaud (The Borgias), Sarah Ramos (Parenthood), Dylan Bruce (Orphan Black), Arielle Kebbel (The Vampire Diaries), and Peter Mensah (Spartacus), among others.
But whereas True Blood started things off slowly — initially focusing solely on vampires before branching out to include werewolves, fairies, witches, shapeshifters, maenads, and that infamous ifrit — Midnight, Texas looks like it's throwing a whole menagerie of supernatural creatures at the viewer right off the bat. According to the trailer, here are some of the beasties audiences can expect to encounter when they tune into the premiere this summer:
1. Ghosts
The very first being we meet other than our protagonist (more on him in a moment) is a dead woman. Although she looks rather corporeal, I don't think she's a zombie; rather, this seems to be the show's version of a ghost. (And she makes for the most terrifying road trip companion since Large Marge.)
2. Vampires
Of course, it wouldn't be a Charlaine Harris story without some blood-sucking fiends in the mix. These vampires seem to have similar powers to the ones in True Blood, including super-speed and being-super-sexy.
3. Angels
It remains to be seen if this winged man is truly a creature of the heavenly variety — or if he's just a half-naked middle-aged man with wings. Either way, he looks pretty cool.
4. Witches
Let's hope that this witch doesn't find herself possessed by the spirit of a vengeful ancient witch like True Blood's Marnie. Things didn't end well for her.
5. Unknown
The trailer is careful not to reveal all the show's secrets in one go; the true nature of several townspeople remains mysterious, from the reverend (who appears to transform into some sort of man-eating beast) to our exposition-spouting waitress (who is almost certainly more than just a waitress). But the most intriguing one is undoubtedly Olivia, whose abilities other than "has an impressive gun collection" are withheld from us for now. (Also, her skin seems to turn grey while in a romantic embrace with our resident vampire; is that his power or hers?)
6. Psychics
Midway through the trailer, we learn what our protagonist's power is: he's a psychic. I wonder if he'll find out he got that power because he's half-fairy midway through the series…
7. Demons?
What's going on inside that house? It seems like the town of Midnight might be built atop some sort of Buffy-like hellmouth. And hey, if there are angels, surely there can be demons, right?
8. Shapeshifters
Oh, and also there's a tiger. I assume this is a shapeshifter and not just an escaped zoo animal. Is this what the reverend turns into when he transforms? Or is this another being entirely? TBD.
Watch the Midnight, Texas trailer below and check out all the supernatural creatures for yourself.
Get to know these creatures — and even more, undoubtedly — when Midnight, Texas debuts on NBC on Tuesday, July 25.
