Entertainment NOW

TV Media Weekly | August 10 - 16, 2019 By Kenneth Andeel TV Media T he first season of AMC's chilling series "The Ter- ror" garnered rave re- views, so of course the network has brought it back for Round 2. On Monday, Aug. 12, the second season of the chan- nel's hit historical horror series (now christened as a yearly an- thology program) returns, dubbed "The Terror: Infamy." The altered title helps audi- ences differentiate the new sea- son's storyline from last year's, because this is not a continua- tion of the first season's story, but a whole new tale of, well, terror. The new season stars Derek Mio ("Seal Team") in the lead role of Chester Nakayama, a photographer who discovers creepy signs of the existence of an otherworldly presence in his pictures. Mio is supported by Shingo Usami ("The Pacific") and Naoko Mori ("Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again," 2018), who play his character's parents; Cristina Rodlo ("Too Old to Die Young") as his clandestine girl - friend, Luz; and C. Thomas How- ell ("Animal Kingdom") as a re- tired soldier who oversees func- tions within the War Relocation Authority, the agency estab- lished to conduct the relocation and internment of Japanese- Americans during World War II. Rounding out the cast is be- loved veteran actor and activist George Takei ("Star Trek"), who plays Yamato-san, an experi- enced elder able to offer Na- kayama wisdom and help him navigate the perilous threat posed by spirits out of Japanese folklore. In addition to his on- screen role, Takei also served as a consultant for the production. Having lived in an internment camp himself when he was young, he was an invaluable source of knowledge. The first season of "The Ter- ror" went into development in 2016, and was adapted — quite faithfully — from the novel of the same name by science fic- tion and horror author Dan Sim- mons. Simmons' book is based on a legitimate incident from re- al-life history: the disastrous lost expedition led by Englishman Sir John Franklin in 1845. Frank- lin and his crew intended to probe the Arctic region for the coveted Northwest Passage, but the two ships assigned to the task (HMS Erebus and HMS Ter- ror) became icebound, and all 129 men who set out on the ex- pedition perished. The wrecks of their ships remained undiscov- ered until 2014 and 2016. To the already terrifying pros- pect of becoming stranded in Arctic ice, Simmons added his own piece of supernatural flair to rocket the story into truly brain- breaking territory. He added an unrelenting Arctic demon known as the Tuunbaq, which pursued and savaged the doomed survi- vors as they struggled to boat, sled and hike their way out of the grip of the northern ice. "The Terror: Infamy" repli- cates that formula of real hu- man history paired with a super- natural threat, but it relocates to an entirely different era. This season features a community of Japanese-Americans during World War II who are impris- oned in camps set up by a para- noid U.S. government after the attack on Pearl Harbor. These Japanese-American in- ternment camps are seen as a shameful moment in American history, and the story of the camps remains largely unex- plored by American television. No series has ever focused on life inside those camps, let alone one that features a majority Asian and Asian-American cast like "The Terror: Infamy." The new season juxtaposes the cruel fate of interned fami- lies with this season's new itera- tion of occult monstrosity. Un- like the Tuunbaq of Season 1, which was an invention of Dan Simmons, the preternatural bad- die of "The Terror: Infamy" is a creature inspired by Japanese folklore, known as a bakemono. In Japanese mythology, a bake- mono is understood to be a shape-shifting entity that dis- guises its original form. The show is likely to take healthy liberties with its inter- pretation of the folkloric bake- mono. This season's evil creature needs to deliver a horrifying vi- sual punch equal to that of the Tuunbaq's mutated zombie po- lar bear from Season 1, while si- multaneously expanding upon the traditional Japanese mythol- ogy to explain why a spirit from so far away might pursue indi- viduals across oceans to their new homes in America. The first season of the show was able to count on a sturdy plot derived from Simmons' nov- el, but now that the series has turned into an anthology, show- runners have a whole new set of challenges. Unlike "American Horror Story," which typically re- tains a number of core cast members from season to season, "The Terror" anthology looks as if it will require audiences to em- brace an entirely new set of per- formers every year. On the other hand, if "The Terror: Infamy" is as successful as the original season was, there will be limitless opportunities for the show to expand and plunder mythology and folklore from around the world and throughout history. Find out if the anthology format is a good fit for this series when Season 2 premieres Monday, Aug. 12, on AMC. George Takei as seen in "The Terror: Infamy" Infamous and terrifying: AMC's first anthology horror series heads into Season 2 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2"

• Cover