In the lottery of most anticipated 2016 television debuts, not including returning series, an early edge has to go to Outcast, the latest project from Robert Kirkman, which is adapted from Kirkman's own comic series based on demonic possession and exorcism. Kirkman has shepherded not only The Walking Dead through five exceptional seasons, but also just had a secondary triumph as the co-creator of Fear the Walking Dead, which had the best ratings of any debut season of television in cable TV history at the end of Season 1 last weekend. The first taste we got from Outcast came with San Diego Comic Con earlier this year, and now, New York Comic Con has received its own trailer for the anticipated series, which sheds a bit more light on Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit), the series central character.
Here's the New York Comic Con trailer for Outcast:
The general mystery of the series, which revolves around Barnes' life as a victim of demonic possession, remains even though this trailer offers more scenes from the series. There's a greater sense of Barnes' small-town life and the inherent paranoia that follows a life touched by the demonic, but the trajectory of the series still remains unknowable to those who haven't read Kirkman's original comic books. In fact, knowing the history of Kirkman's loose adaptations, those who have read the books might not even have a sense of what's about to happen in Barnes world.
Here's the official synopsis for the pilot of Outcast, which is being directed by the great Adam Wingard, of The Guest, You're Next, and the recently announced Death Note adaptation:
Outcast follows Kyle Barnes, a young man who has been plagued by demonic possession all his life. Now, with the help of the Reverend Anderson, a preacher with personal demons of his own, Kyle embarks on a journey to find answers and regain the normal life he lost. But what Kyle discovers could change his fate — and the fate of the world — forever.
Patrick Fugit (“Gone Girl”) stars as Barnes, a man searching for answers, and for redemption, who sequesters himself from those he loves for fear of causing greater hurt. Philip Glenister (“Life on Mars”) stars as Reverend Anderson, a West Virginia evangelist who believes he is a soldier in God’s holy war against the forces of evil on Earth. An inveterate drinker and gambler, he doesn’t believe God intends people to sweat the small stuff. Gabriel Bateman (“Stalker”) stars as Joshua Austin, an eight-year-old who lives across town from Kyle. To his family’s dismay, he appears to be in the clutches of demonic possession, but there’s something very different about this possession and its connection to Kyle Barnes.
