Mockingbird Lane

When it comes to The Munsters, NBC execs know this: What Bryan Fuller did to recreate TV's beloved gang of misfits did not work for them.  

The network hired Fuller do an update of the monstrous family.  He turned in a pilot called Mockingbird Lane, however, NBC opted not to run with a series based on that pilot.  Instead, they aired it as a Halloween special.  

That doesn't mean The Munsters is entirely dead at NBC, however.

Consider October's "Halloween special" Mockingbird Lane a one-off.  It has been decided by NBC execs that Bryan Fuller's reboot of The Munsters will not return to the small screen.  Fuller broke the news today via Twitter.

As a long time fan of The Munsters, I was skeptical about a reboot.  I mean, who wouldn't be?  

All I could do was conjur up memories of those truly awful made-for-TV movies that came along in the '80s and cobbled together remaining cast members trying to recapture the magic of the old series.  

On the flipside of that, however, as a fan, I always thought about how one could effectively pull off a contemporary representation of the Munster family.  There would have to be a balance of old and new sensibilities, after all, and that could get tricky.

Mockingbird Lane, NBC's reboot of The Munsters, I believe, effectively finds that balance, tapping into the goofy charm of the original series while bringing to the slab a healthy dose of modern genre elements and black humor.  For what it is, it works really well and it's a shame to see NBC merely pass the pilot episode off as a "Halloween special" with no future episodes waiting in the wings because what showrunner Bryan (Pushing Daisies) Fuller created in his labratory is promising, appropriately weird, funny and beautifully produced.

NBC is airing Bryan Fuller's Mockingbird Lane as a Halloween special this Friday, October 26 at 8 p.m. ET and The Hollywood Reporter has revealed a brand new behind-the-scenes featurette that you can check out in the player below. You can also check out a previously-released clip by clicking here.

In the series, sweet little Eddie Munster (Mason Cook) is a normal kid about to enter the horrors of puberty. Truth is, he's about to discover that for him becoming a teenager means growing hair in truly unexpected places -- as in all over his body -- every time the moon is full! Eddie's got it pretty good though. His loving, supportive, run-of-the-mill family includes his mom Lily (Portia de Rossi), the daughter of Dracula; his dad Herman (Jerry O'Connell), who brings new meaning to "Frankenstein"; and Grandpa (Eddie Izzard), who would give Dracula a run for his money if he weren't actually Dracula! 

NBC is airing Bryan Fuller's Mockingbird Lane as a Halloween special this Friday, October 26 at 8 p.m. ET and The Huffington Post has revealed a brand new clip that you can check out in the player below.

In Mockingbird Lane, sweet little Eddie Munster (Mason Cook) is a normal kid about to enter the horrors of puberty. Truth is, he's about to discover that for him becoming a teenager means growing hair in truly unexpected places -- as in all over his body -- every time the moon is full! Eddie's got it pretty good though. His loving, supportive, run-of-the-mill family includes his mom Lily (Portia de Rossi), the daughter of Dracula; his dad Herman (Jerry O'Connell), who brings new meaning to "Frankenstein"; and Grandpa (Eddie Izzard), who would give Dracula a run for his money if he weren't actually Dracula! Of course then there's creepy cousin Marilyn (Charity Wakefield), who's really the odd one because she's so completely normal. 

Demonstrating that the forthcoming NBC Halloween special Mockingbird Lane is not going to be your typical look at The Munsters, showrunner Bryan Fuller has revealed two new images, including a bloody look at Grandpa Munster (Eddie Izzard).

Mockingbird Lane, directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men, The Usual Suspects), airs this Friday, October 26th.

Buying a house these days is a nightmare, so Herman and Lily are shocked that no one scooped up the rambling Victorian mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane that was the site of a series of grisly hobo murders. Settling into their new place, they're quickly onto the mission at hand: to gently ease Eddie into the reality of his werewolf adolescence. But it's not always so easy to accept that your child is a little "different" from the rest of the kids. Meanwhile, Herman, who works as a funeral director, is suffering from a heart condition. Since he's made up mostly of spare parts, he knew his makeshift heart would eventually give out. No worries though, because Grandpa, who is pretty good at procuring body parts, is on the case. All Herman cares about is finding a new heart with the same capacity to love Lily as much as he has for so many decades.

Who remembers the ol' family pet dragon, Spot on The Munsters?  Furthermore, who out there can remember what the entire beast looked like?  If you're having a hard time conjuring up an exact image, well, we understand...because you never actually saw the full creature who resided under the staircase and tunnels of the Munsters' home on Mockingbird Lane.  You would always get a glimpse of his tail or, if you're lucky, a shadow-enshrouded look at his face - mouth full of teeth and flames shooting out of his nostrils - but never an entire view of the creature.  

All you knew was he was big.

Mockingbird Lane - NBC and showrunner Bryan Fuller's reboot of The Munsters - is going to get you up close and personal with Spot (in fact, you can get a sneak peek at him via this preview).  And, today, ShockTillYouDrop.com scored an exclusive piece of Spot concept art by Jonathan Wayshak (visit his official site) who has done work on properties including The Walking Dead, Gears of War and Halo.

"I do remember thinking about what Spot looked like [while watching The Munsters], kind of a Triceratops style head with irregular scales and a short, squat body.  A hobbit of a dragon I guess.  Nothing like the final design," Wayshak tells us.

NBC has revealed the first promo for the one-hour Mockingbird Lane pilot, which will air on Friday, October 26 at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch it after the jump!

In Mockingbird Lane, sweet little Eddie Munster (Mason Cook) is a normal kid about to enter the horrors of puberty. Truth is, he's about to discover that for him becoming a teenager means growing hair in truly unexpected places -- as in all over his body -- every time the moon is full! Eddie's got it pretty good though. His loving, supportive, run-of-the-mill family includes his mom Lily (Portia de Rossi), the daughter of Dracula; his dad Herman (Jerry O'Connell), who brings new meaning to "Frankenstein"; and Grandpa (Eddie Izzard), who would give Dracula a run for his money if he weren't actually Dracula! Of course then there's creepy cousin Marilyn (Charity Wakefield), who's really the odd one because she's so completely normal.

Now that Mockingbird Lane has an air date (October 26th on NBC), the promotion campaign has begun. TV Line landed eight new images from The Munsters reboot which was written by Bryan Fuller and directed by Bryan Singer.

The cast includes Jerry O’Connell as Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi as his wife Lily, Eddie Izzard as Grandpa, Mason Cook as Eddie and Charity Wakefield as Marilyn.

The pics show off some handsome production design, but there's nothing too monstrous lurking within them.  Well, except for one image with Herman on an operating room table (we're finally seeing some stitches on him).  Head inside for the photos and click here for more details on its debut.

This week, in the midst of rumors concerning what NBC was going to do with Mockingbird Lane, the reboot of The Munsters, showrunner Bryan Fuller tweeted: "MockbingbirdLane Lives!" which gave us hope that some good news was coming.

Today, we received the official word:

As Halloween nears, NBC turns Friday, October 26 into Fright Night when it premieres the pilot of the much-anticipated Mockingbird Lane (8-9 p.m. ET) - based on executive producer Bryan Fuller’s script and directed by executive producer Bryan Singer.

The special program leads into a haunting “La Llorona” Halloween episode of Grimm (9-10 p.m. ET), which will also enjoy special airings on NBCUniversal’s Telemundo and mun2. 

This month began with some rather sour news regarding NBC's reboot of The Munsters - called Mockingbird Lane.  Deadline reported that the network was not happy with the pilot and was not going to take it to series.  Showrunner Bryan Fuller responded, via Twitter, saying there was no truth to this.  But now a new report - stemming from The Hollywood Reporter - reveals just what NBC might do with the pilot.

A potential new show we've been avidly following may not ever reach the small screen.  Deadline reports things are not looking good for NBC's reboot of The Munsters, Mockingbird Lane.  

The Bryan Fuller-created, Bryan Singer-directed pilot episode failed to connect with NBC's top dogs and while a final decision has yet to be made, it doesn't look like Mockingbird Lane will be taken to series.

Though the show won't be hitting the airwaves until next year, it appears that NBC is very happy with what they're seeing from Bryan Fuller's upcoming reboot of "The Munsters," Mockingbird Lane, and have already ordered additional scripts with a series order still pending. Fuller, a lifelong fan of the original show, sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about his role as showrunner and the tone he's aiming for with his ambitious approach.

"The Munsters actually do what monsters do," he says of the show's darker approach. "They eat people and they have to live with the ramifications of being monstrous. It's like grounding it in a reality because the half-hour was a sitcom, we saw the monsters: they were monsters on the outside and weren't monsters on the inside. For us, they're monsters outside and inside, and we get to double our story."

He also promises that each hourlong episode will explore some weighter issues than the original half-hour sitcom did.

When one hits Comic-Con, there are only so many panels we can hit in one day.  

Sadly, we were not able to make the panel discussion with Bryan Fuller, the creator of the upcoming Mockingbird Lane (The Munsters reboot) and Hannibal television shows.

If we had, we would have seen the first look at Mockingbird Lane via a sizzle reel, which offered up first footage from the series.

Thankfully, TV Line was there and they ran a few highlights and posted a panel pic which shows off the Munsters themselves (it's the pic you see to the right, head inside for a slightly larger version).  

As you see, the Munsters look quite, er, normal.  No garish make-up.  (Jerry O'Connell plays Herman Munster, Portia De Rossi is Lily, Eddie Izzard is Grandpa, Mason Cook plays Eddie and Charity Wakefield is Marilyn.)  But rest assured, there are plenty of monstrous shenangians on the way.

Bryan Fuller is taking a small break from his very busy schedule on Saturday to hit Comic-Con and discuss his past projects and his upcoming endeavors like Mockingbird Lane, a reboot of The Munsters, and Hannibal.  Both shows are coming to NBC.

Today, Fuller revealed that the first 500 people to enter Room 7AB at 1pm, when his panel starts, will get the Hannibal t-shirt you see on the right.  We've also been informed that a Mockingbird Lane sizzle reel is going to be shown.

Here is how the panel is described, per the SDCC schedule:

Acclaimed television writer/executive producer Bryan Fuller (Heroes), the creative force behind Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, and Dead Like Me, for a Q&A with fans as he discusses two of his highly anticipated projects, Hannibal and Mockingbird Lane. 

According to Deadline, Cheyenne Jackson - Danny Baker on 30 Rock - has landed a guest role on Mockingbird Lane, NBC's reboot of The Munsters.  The site says Jackson will play Eddie Munster's scout master who becomes smitten with Marilyn (the "normal" family member played by Charity Wakefield).

Bryan Fuller has revealed a photo Charity Wakefield as Marilyn Munster on the set of Mockingbird Lane, NBC's Munsters reboot which officially began rolling cameras today.  That's her to the left, you can head inside for a larger look.

A major casting change has been made since our last report.  Portia De Rossi is slipping into the role of Lily Munster.  The part was originally geared for Mariana Klaveno, however, it appears the actress could not be released from another series she was committed to.

Wakefield and De Rossi join Jerry O'Connell, as Herman Munster, Mason Cook as Eddie, and Eddie Izzard as Grandpa.

Fuller is showrunner on the series; Bryan Singer is directing the pilot.

This week has been heavy with a lot of "horror on TV" updates, eh?  We'll continue this streak with a small update on Mockingbird Lane, the reboot of The Munsters that's in the works at NBC.  Showrunner Bryan Fuller took to his social networks (Twitter/Facebook) to share with his fans a look at actor Eddie Izzard during a wardrobe fitting as Grandpa Munster.

After the jump, you'll find a larger look at the image on the left.

Izzard co-stars in the upcoming series with Jerry O'Connell, as Herman Munster, Mason Cook, as Eddie, and Mariana Klaveno as Lily Munster.  Charity Wakefield plays Marilyn - the less monstrous family member.

Nipping at the heels of yesterday's Mockingbird Lane announcement - in which Jerry O'Connell was revealed to be the new Herman Munster in NBC's Munsters reboot - comes word that Mariana Klaveno has been cast as Lily Munster.

Klaveno vamped out on another show, True Blood, before moving on to Dexter.  On Mockingbird Lane, she'll join Eddie Izzard and Mason Cook as Grandpa and Eddie Munster, respectively.

Bryan Fuller is the showrunner on the reboot and Bryan Singer is directing the pilot.

NBC has made two hefty casting announcements today.  The first concerned its upcoming Hannibal television series, from Bryan Fuller.  Now, comes word regarding Fuller's other show for the network, Mockingbird Lane, the reboot of The Munsters.  The project has found its Herman Munster!

Not bad...not a bad choice at all.  Mockingbird Lane, also known as NBC's reboot of The Munsters, has cast its Eddie Munster.  

Mason Cook will join Eddie Izzard (as Grandpa) and Charity Wakefield (Marilyn).

Sets are currently being built on the Universal lot for Mockingbird Lane, which comes to us from Bryan Fuller.  Brian Singer (X-Men) is directing the pilot.  Fuller is also overseeing the development of Hannibal for NBC with David Slade directing.

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly has a first look at concept art for NBC's reboot of The Munsters, to be titled Mockingbird Lane. Thanks to Dread Central, you can now check it out online.

The concept art gives you a first look at the spooky house, Eddie Izzard as "Grandpa" and two versions of the not-yet-cast Lilly. Charity Wakefield was previously announced as Marilyn. The pilot was written by Bryan Fuller and will be directed by Bryan Singer in June.

Deadline reports that the actress has been cast alongside Eddie Izzard in the upcoming "Munsters" reboot, "Mockingbird Lane". 

TV Line breaks the news that the shoes of Grandpa Munster will be filled by Eddie Izzard (The Riches) when NBC's Munsters reboot, Mockingbird Lane, makes its debut.