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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, July 3, 2020 4 By Rachel Jones TV Media T he Season 1 finale of "NOS4A2" couldn't have been more riveting: a ma- niacal immortal woke up from his coma, ready to feed on the souls of more children. While it was satisfying to see the show's famous car go up in smoke, the show's villainous vampire is indeed back in an- other thrilling season of this dark series. You can catch the second episode of Season 2 when it airs Sunday, July 5, on AMC. The series is based on author Joe Hill's third novel, also named "NOS4A2." Hill's first two books, "Heart-Shaped Box" and "Horns," have al- ready been snapped up by filmmakers, so be on the look- out for those big-screen adap- tations. "NOS4A2," on the oth- er hand, is perfect for the tele- vision treatment. It's been giv- en a two-season-and-counting run on AMC, the network that's been home to mega-hits such as "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men." The show's title is ominously pronounced "Nosferatu," and its license plate-styled spelling is a nod to the book's cover art and one of the story's most im- portant characters, a 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith. Season 1 does a great job setting up an airtight, gripping plot. It opens in a town called Here, Iowa, where contempo- rary vampire Charlie (Zachary Quinto, "Star Trek Into Dark- ness," 2013) lures kids into the too-good-to-be-real Christ- masland, where every day is Christmas and sadness is a crime. Of course, he rarely mentions the part where he devours most of each child's soul. Meanwhile, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, a townie named Victoria "Vic" Mc- Queen (Ashleigh Cummings, "The Goldfinch," 2019) must come to terms with her own supernatural powers. She can find answers and missing things just by riding her bike across an old, decrepit bridge called the Shorter Way. While crossing the bridge, Vic meets a medium named Maggie (Jah- kara Smith, "Into the Dark"), who gives her an important mission: save the children from Charlie. But somehow, Charlie can sense Vic's presence and hopes to recruit her to the dark side. He and his new apprentice, Bing Partridge (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga," 2020), track her down, and what followed was a grip- ping tale with twists and turns that kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Interesting char- acters like Charlie's old love in- terest, Jolene (Judith Roberts, "Orange Is the New Black"), and Vic's childhood friend and secret admirer, Craig (Dalton Harrod, "Second Act," 2018), have come and gone (in a blaze of glory), fleshing out the backstories of the main char- acters and proving that no one is safe in this series. Ultimately, Season 1 ends in flames: after a major explo- sion, Charlie slips into a coma, but then, six months later, he is awoken once more. Season 2 takes place eight years after Charlie regained consciousness. Vic is all the more determined to destroy Charlie, who is now seeking re- venge and targeting the per- son who means the most to Vic: the 8-year-old son, Wayne (Jason David, "For All Man- kind"), that she had with Lou Carmody (Jonathan Langdon, "Utopia Falls"). The fight over Wayne's soul throws Vic and Charlie on a high-speed colli- sion course, each determined to claim the boy at all costs. So far this season, Vic has turned to Maggie to get infor- mation about Charlie's where- abouts. Meanwhile, Charlie's assistant, Bing, has started tracing the Wraith's where- abouts. So far, he's found noth- ing but dead ends. Perhaps one of the most important develop- ments in this new season is that Millie Manx (Mattea Con- forti, "Power"), one of Char- lie's "children," has just uncov- ered a new dimension inside Christmasland. "NOS4A2" is more than ready to grip audiences once more with its unique, other- worldly brand of awe. This hor- ror series has hit a chord with viewers, and its fans are relish- ing in its dark and mysterious premise. While we loved seeing Charlie's Wraith explode and watching the bad guy get what he deserved, we couldn't be happier to see him return for this second installment. Hill, the show's writer and creator, comes by his penchant for the dark and creepy honest- ly. He's the son of legendary horror writer Stephen King, who brought us such terrifying classics as "Pet Sematary," "'Salem's Lot," "Carrie," "Mis- ery," "The Stand" and oh so many more. While he may be the son of horror royalty, Hill has made his own way in the literary world and is no strang- er to seeing his work on the small screen: if you haven't watched the adaptation of his comic book series "Locke & Key" on Netflix, you should definitely put it on your list. coverstory Jonathan Langdon, Jason David and Ashleigh Cummings in "NOS4A2" Thirsty for more: Season 2 of 'NOS4A2' continues on AMC By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Did Joely Richardson take the role in "Return to Me" because of her sister? A: In a dark and eerie coincidence, no, the film actually came first. In the 2000 romance "Return to Me," Joely Richardson plays a young woman who dies of head trauma after a car ac- cident. Her heart is donated to another young woman in need of a transplant, which kicks off the film's story — Richard- son's character's husband unknowingly falls in love with the recipient. Nine years later, Joely's sister, Natasha Richardson, died of head trauma after a skiing accident. She also donated her heart and other organs (no grand, contrived romances result- ed from her act, just the ordinary miracle of life). Perhaps it's the burden of actors to always be able to find parallels between their work and (sometimes tragic) real life. Natasha's death forced her husband, actor Liam Neeson, into the spotlight as a real grieving widower left alone to raise two young boys. Six years earlier, he played a similar part in "Love Actually" (2003) — it remains one of his best-loved roles. Q: Did "Shaun of the Dead" have to get any special permission to use the title, since it is very clearly a play on "Dawn of the Dead"? A: It looks like the producers of the modern-classic, ground- breaking zombie comedy did not run it past anyone first. It's likely they figured the movie fell under the fair-use ex- emption in U.K. copyright law. Fair use is a concept that exists in many countries — it's basically a list of reasons that copy- righted material can be used without permission. One of those uses is parody, which is what "Shaun of the Dead" cer- tainly is. The similarities go way beyond the title. "Shaun of the Dead" (2004) is a loving send-up of "Dawn of the Dead" (1978) and the rest of director-writer George A. Romero's zombie series (starting with 1968's "Night of the Living Dead"). One of the rules for fair use in the U.K. (where "Shaun" was made) and elsewhere is that your use can't cut in on the prof- its of the original. In the case of "Shaun of the Dead," that's almost certainly not a problem — its runaway success almost certainly generated new interest in the Romero films, and in zombie movies in general (indeed, "Shaun" is credited with inventing a brand new genre — the rom-zom-com, or roman- tic zombie comedy). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Towne Floring 3 x 2

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