HBO's 'Lovecraft Country' Teaser Sets The Scene For A Powerful Horror Series

When HBO Max arrived on May 27, there was confusion about how the new streaming service worked as compared to HBO, the cable channel. HBO Max promised original programming and released six new titles, which were mixed in between the latest HBO offerings, like Westworld and My Brilliant Friend. One could be forgiven for thinking HBO Max would take over releasing all-new content. But that's not the case. The cable channel has a separate slate of programming coming out, and, as HBO's Lovecraft Country teaser proves, it's still some of the most interesting stuff arriving this year.

Lovecraft Country does not yet have a definitive release date, but the new trailer promises this horror series will be a summer scorcher, arriving in August. That seems fitting, as the series focuses on a road trip through the south, with dusty streets, blazing sun, and monstrous terror.

Based on the novel by Matt Ruff, Lovecraft Country is the story of Atticus Black (Jonathan Majors). He embarks on a search for his father across 1950s Jim Crow America, along with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance).

According to the synopsis, the threesome will have to "overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback."

Check out the trailer, which promises, "Stories are a living thing."

If this feels a little in the same lane as 2017's Get Out, with real-life racism mixed with magical science fiction/fantasy horror, it will come as no surprise that the series is executive produced by Jordan Peele. He's not the showrunner, though; this production is being helmed by Misha Green. She's best known for the show Underground; a period drama focused on the Underground Railroad in Georgia in the years before the Civil War. The series, which also starred Smollett-Bell, was a cult hit on WGN for the two seasons it ran.

Lovecraft Country is an HBO premiere and will air weekly on the cable channel. But as the trailer notes, it will also be available for streaming as a weekly release for those who have HBO Max.

Lovecraft Country arrives on HBO in August of 2020.