Watchmen is a new HBO TV series that is based on the popular Alan Moore limited series. It is more of an extension than a straight up adaptation!
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the TV show everyone is raving about!
- Watchmen is an American superhero drama television series
- It is inspired by some characters from the DC Comics limited series of the same name created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
- The TV show is created and developed by Damon Lindelof for HBO
- With Lindelof serving as executive producer and writer
- There will be nine episodes in the first season
- The series takes place in an alternate contemporary reality in the United States
- In this reality superheroes and masked vigilantes were outlawed due to their violent methods
- But some of them gather around to start a revolution while others attempt to stop it
- According to Lindelof, the TV series will not be a direct adaptation of the original source material
- Instead, being “remixed”
- Aiming to tell an entirely new story set in the world where the events of the original storyline took place
- The series will also showcase different points of view
- The only characters from the original storyline confirmed to appear in the series being Doctor Manhattan, the former Silk Spectre, and former hero Ozymandias
- The series will also focus on a detective named Angela Abar who becomes a vigilante called Sister Night
- The series premiered on October 20, 2019
- The series takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in an alternative reality in 2019
- 34 years after the comic ends
- Robert Redford is the longest-serving President of the United States, having been elected in 1992
- After a white supremacy group of Rorschach followers that call themselves “The Seventh Cavalry” (wearing homemade Rorschach masks) commits simultaneous attacks on the houses of police members, the police start wearing masks
- On October 1, 2015, it was reported that HBO had entered into preliminary discussions with Zack Snyder
- Director of the 2009 Watchmen film, about potentially producing a television series adaptation
- HBO later confirmed that the reports were accurate
- On June 20, 2017, it was reported that Damon Lindelof was in early talks to develop the potential television series adaptation for HBO
- At that time, both parties were said to be in the midst of making a deal
- And it was confirmed that Snyder was no longer involved with the production
- On September 19, 2017, it was reported that the writers’ room for the series had opened
- A day later, it was announced that HBO had officially given the production a pilot order
- And also ordered additional backup scripts as well
- On January 30, 2018, it was announced that Nicole Kassell would direct and executive produce the pilot, written by Lindelof
- On May 22, 2018, Lindelof posted a five-page open letter to fans of the comic book series wherein he revealed that the television series would not be a direct adaptation of the source material or a sequel to it either but instead would depict a new, original story
- However, the new story does take place after the original Watchmen
- On August 17, 2018, it was announced that HBO had given the production a series order for a first season set to premiere in 2019
- On September 20, 2018, it was reported that the score for the series would be composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- On May 23, 2018, it was announced that Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, and Andrew Howard had joined the cast of the pilot
- At least one of the actors was expected to have been cast in a potentially recurring role
- In June 2018, it was reported that Jeremy Irons, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Sara Vickers had been cast in the pilot
- On August 7, 2018, it was announced that Dylan Schombing, Adelynn Spoon, and Lily Rose Smith had joined the pilot’s cast
- In November 2018, it was reported that Jean Smart had been cast in a starring role
- And that James Wolk would appear in a recurring capacity
- Additionally, it was confirmed that Irons would portray Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias, that Nelson would portray a newly-devised character named Looking Glass
- And that Vickers and Mison would join the cast
- In January 2019, it was announced that Hong Chau and Dustin Ingram had been cast in recurring roles
- In July 2019, it was announced that Robert Redford would come out of retirement and play a fictionalized version of himself who became President of the United States
- As of July 17, 2019, it has been revealed that Doctor Manhattan would appear in the series
- Principal photography for the pilot commenced on June 1, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia
- Throughout the month, filming occurred in additional Georgia cities and towns
- Including Macon, Fayetteville, Newnan, Palmetto, Brooks, and Tucker
- In October 2018, filming for the remainder of the first season began in Georgia
- Filming locations that month included Palmetto, Brookhaven, Peachtree City, Decatur, and the MARTA station in Chamblee
- In November 2018, shooting moved to locales such as Palmetto, Chamblee, McDonough, and the West Lake MARTA station
- In December 2018, the production was working out of Union City, Newnan, and the Georgia World Congress Center
- Watchmen has received critical acclaim
- On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 93% “certified fresh” rating
- Based on 44 reviews
- With an average rating of 8.81/10
- The website’s critical consensus reads, “Bold and bristling, Watchmen isn’t always easy viewing, but by adding new layers of cultural context and a host of complex characters it expertly builds on its source material to create an impressive identity of its own”
- On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100
- Based on 25 critics
- Indicating “universal acclaim”
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