‘Twilight Zone’ series gets third reboot by top US comic
Comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele — known for directing mystery thriller “Get Out,” which is heading into awards season — will helm the reboot. Image: Valerie Macon / AFP
Are you ready to re-enter “The Twilight Zone?” US television channel CBS announced Wednesday it will resurrect the science-fiction series, in a bid to boost its subscription-based streaming platform CBS All Access.
Comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele — known for directing mystery thriller “Get Out,” which is heading into awards season — will helm the reboot.
First broadcast in 1959, “The Twilight Zone” was a pioneer in television drama, known for its suspenseful music composed by French-Romanian Marius Constant and the black-and-white spiral of the credits.
The series had no regular characters: each episode was instead a standalone exploration of fantasy, science-fiction, psychology and metaphysics, with dramatic tension always at the forefront.
However, the series did have an omnipresent narrator — portrayed by the show’s writer, Rod Serling.
“The Twilight Zone” also featured performances from several film stars — from Buster Keaton to Robert Redford, along with the likes of Mickey Rooney, Lee Van Cleef and William Shatner.
It served as inspiration for several other shows, including Charlie Brooker’s “Black Mirror” (Netflix), itself a hit offering unsettling, satirical explorations of the modern world.
It has already been remade twice, broadcast from 1985 to 1989 on CBS and again between 2002 and 2003 on the cable channel UPN.
Director and actor Peele will serve as executive producer on this third revival, alongside Simon Kinberg, best known for his work on the “X-Men” franchise.
Peele made an impression as a director with his first film, “Get Out,” released in February. Despite a $4.5 million budget, the critically acclaimed tale of a young black man meeting his white girlfriend’s sweet-turned-sinister family earned $175 million — with takings of $254 million internationally.
“Too many times this year it’s felt we were living in a twilight zone, he said. “I can’t think of a better moment to reintroduce it to modern audiences.” AB
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