NBC Developing Eva Longoria Produced Anthology Series
NBC is aiming to cash in on the anthology series trend with a supernatural thriller produced by Eva Longoria and
Chicago Fire co-executive producer, Andrea Newman. The project, which is inspired by Hispanic myths and folklore and set in the present day, would potentially explore a different mystical legend each season. The first of which is based on the tale of La Llorona, or “weeping woman” and follows “a troubled Detective investigating a young mother accused of trying to drown her child in a small town hiding a supernatural secret,” per
Deadline. The story of La Llorona has many iterations unique to specific Hispanic cultures but it generally features a ghostly woman who appears in the night crying for her drowned child and wreaking havoc on those who encounter her, she sometimes abducts children to replace the one she lost. The legend as been featured in other television shows like Supernatural and NBC’s own Grimm.
With anthology series like
American Horror Story,
True Detective and
Fargo generating critical acclaim and audience attention for cable networks, this could be a great addition for NBC. Though the aforementioned shows do take advantage of the less restrictive world of cable television, pushing the boundaries of what can be seen/shown on television and embracing the extremes of each genre (horror, suspense, crime, etc) it will be interesting to see if NBC could navigate the constraints put on broadcast channels and still deliver daring material or succumb to the restriction and produce a benign, toothless work with shadings of darkness.