HBO’s long-awaited drama series “Lovecraft Country” finally hits the network this August, and a first trailer for the series has been unveiled by the network today. Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, “Lovecraft Country” looks to offer plenty of southern gothic thrills and chills of the kind originated by the eponymous author of such stories as “The Call of Cthulhu” and “The Colour Out of Space.” The original dark fantasy novel explored the connection between the horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, and racism in the United States circa the Jim Crow era. Here’s the official synopsis from HBO:
“The series follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he joins up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.”
HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” is executive-produced by series creator Misha Green, who also serves as showrunner. Green also wrote and executive-produced the WGN America series “Underground,” and served as a staff writer on “Heroes” and “Sons of Anarchy.” Also getting executive producer credits here are horror master Jordan Peele, producing via his Monkeypaw Productions, and science-fiction tentpole maestro J.J. Abrams, via his Bad Robot Productions.
With the Stephen King adaptation “The Outsider” proving to be an HBO hit earlier this year, and with discussions of a possible followup season looming, the network is becoming something of a horror haven. “Lovecraft Country,” like that series, features another high-profile cast and behind-the-scenes creative pedigree. On “Lovecraft Country,” Bill Carraro, Yann Demange (who also directed the premiere episode), Daniel Sackheim (director of two episodes), and David Knoller also are executive producers.
HBO has yet to provide an official August release date. The project has been in the works since 2017, the year after Mat Ruff’s novel hit shelves and earned considerable praise for marrying historical drama to horror genre lore. The series so far looks no different — watch the trailer below:
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