The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)
A modern revival of Rod Serling's classic anthology series.
The Twilight Zone, a 2019 anthology series, was created by Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, and Marco Ramirez, drawing from Rod Serling’s 1959 show. Peele narrates and executive produces via Monkeypaw Productions. It debuted on CBS All Access on April 1, 2019, and got a second season midway through its initial ten episodes. That season dropped fully on June 25, 2020. In February 2021, the producers confirmed no further seasons would be made.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Anthology
- Drama
- Fantasy
- Horror
- Science fiction
- Thriller
- Creator
- Rod Serling
- Developer
- Simon Kinberg
- Jordan Peele
- Marco Ramirez
- Presenter
- Jordan Peele
- Composer
- Marco Beltrami; Brandon Roberts
- Theme music
- Marius Constant
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Production
This version of The Twilight Zone explores a fresh subject in every installment, touching on themes like the paranormal, racial prejudice, societal problems, media falsehoods, extraterrestrial visits, and border crossing, each capped with a surprising turn. Memorable installments include Sanaa Lathan playing a woman who finds her video camera can rewind time, Chris O’Dowd as an anthropologist examining a peculiar firearm, Morena Baccarin as a hotel manager encountering frozen people around her, and Damon Wayans Jr. as a church worker who can reshape his community by adjusting a miniature version of it. The cast also features John Larroquette, Donna Dixon, Eric Keenleyside, Kristin Lehman, Ryan Robbins, Peter Kelamis, Ethan Embry, Gil Bellows, and George Takei. The episode “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” takes a different route than the 1963 classic with William Shatner, while “You Might Also Like” ties back to the original “To Serve Man.” “Blurryman” is a self-aware story where Mark Silverman again portrays Rod Serling, a role he played at Disney’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction. In December 2012, Bryan Singer struck a deal to create a third revival for CBS Television Studios. By 2016, Simon Kinberg and Craig Sweeny had joined the project, but Singer and Sweeny later departed.
Release
The first season of the series dropped on April 1, 2019, following a Super Bowl LIII teaser trailer that aired on February 3. A monochrome version of that season arrived on May 30, 2019. The entire second season was released on June 25, 2020. In February 2023, the show was pulled from both Paramount+ and Showtime.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 70% approval rating based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 7.39/10; the critical consensus calls it "a thought-provoking—if not always spine-tingling—showcase for Jordan Peele and his exceptional crop of collaborators." Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews." The BBC gave a positive review, suggesting that Peele updates the series while capturing the original's essence. The Week was mixed, calling the first episodes "unforgivably long" but stating the series stays "true to the ethos of The Twilight Zone." The Verge praised Peele as narrator but said the series should step away from the original. The Atlantic was more critical, comparing it to the original and noting that except for the episode "Replay," it was hard to conceive of Peele's creative involvement. The second season, based on three episodes sent to critics, received mixed reviews; on Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 63% approval rating based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.39/10, and the consensus states that "long runtimes and predictable plotting hold it back." Metacritic assigned a score of 57 out of 100. Kristen Lopez of IndieWire gave the three episodes a collective grade of "B−," calling "You Might Also Like" a pure masterpiece. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote that every episode in the trio disappoints to varying degrees.
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