Netflix's 'Dracula' Teaser Is Here Just In Time For Halloween
Netflix's relationship with the BBC has produced at least one major out-of-the-box hit with Bodyguard. It also has created some slower burn hits, like Peaky Blinders, which is killing it with the new Season 5. Now the latest BBC series to premiere stateside on Netflix will be one of the classic horror tales, this one from Irish author Bram Stoker: Dracula. But Netflix's Dracula teaser suggests there will be a bit of a twist on the classic vampire story viewers know and love.
The good news is that the twists aren't taking the story and turning it into a modern one. With writers Steve Moffat and Mark Gatiss at the helm, some fans thought this might follow in the footsteps of Sherlock, their last collaboration. That series, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, took the world's greatest detective and re-imagined him for the 21st century. None of that is happening here.
Count Dracula, played by Danish actor Claes Bang, looks to be alive and well, and living in the late 1800s, as he always has. But those who expect the story of highbrow PBS style-"no blood or sex, please" will find that's gone out the window. The teaser is full-on body horror and suggests every squick factor will be involved.
Check it out:
One thing that will follow the Sherlock formula: The series will only be three 90-minute episodes. The story won't try and tell the tale from funny angles either. Instead, it will focus on the Dracula readers know from Bram Stoker’s novel.
In Transylvania in 1897, the blood-drinking Count is drawing his plans against Victorian London, and judging by the teaser, the series will be full of gruesome nastiness that will not be for the faint of heart.
Moffat and Gatiss, who are not only writers on the series but co-creators and executive producers, said in a joint statement:
There have always been stories about great evil. What’s special about Dracula is that Bram Stoker gave evil its own hero.
Larry Tanz, the VP of content acquisition at Netflix, is also excited about the team-up:
We can’t wait to bring Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ brilliant storytelling to our members around the world, and we are eager to collaborate on yet another series with the BBC.
Claes Bang is something of a newcomer to American audiences. Though he has an extensive resume on European television, he's best known on this side of the pond for his recurring role in Showtime's The Affair, where he plays Helen's love interest Sasha Mann in the currently airing Season 5. He'll be playing against John Heffernan (The Crown) as the story's main protagonist, Jonathan Harker. Dolly Wells (The Bridget Jones series) plays his love interest, Mina.
The cast will also include Mark Gatiss, who also appeared on screen in Sherlock, as well as Game of Thrones. Filling out the roster are Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It), Morfydd Clark (His Dark Materials), Lujza Richter (Phantom Thread), and Clive Russell (Game of Thrones).
Dracula is expected to air on BBC One in early 2020, and follow directly on Netflix.
