The Purge TV show has landed its first director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anthony Hemingway has signed on to helm the premiere episode of the Syfy series based on horror film franchise by James DeMonaco.
Universal Cable Productions and Blumhouse Television confirmed the news Tuesday, after actors Gabriel Chavarria (East Los High) and Jessica Garza (Six) were announced as cast leads alongside Amanda Warren (The Leftovers) and Colin Woodell (The Originals).
Hemingway is considered one of the most prominent and prolific black TV directors. The Emmy Award winner has received credits on shows like American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, American Horror Story, Empire, and Shameless, as well as USA Network’s Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. anthology series.
Considering his history within the horror and crime genres, we’re sure Hemingway will feel right at home on The Purge set.
The project was announced back in 2016, shortly after the franchise’s third installment, The Purge: Election Year, hit the big screen. For those who are unfamiliar, the films are centered on the passing of a new law that allows U.S. citizens to commit any crimes (including murder) for one day within a 12-hour period. DeMonaco said he wanted the TV series to thoroughly explore the root of the annual night of lawlessness as well as the factors that lead people to participate in it.
"The idea of why I like the idea of a maybe 10 hour TV thing on this, the one thing you really can't do on the films is, just because of mere real estate and time, is you can't get into the nuance and complexity that would drive someone to commit a terrible act on this night," he told Cinema Blend. "It will be interesting to show those arcs, those dramatic and complex arcs that get people to where they pick up a gun or a knife and kill someone else. I think there's something cool that we can do with the real estate of TV—10 hours, potentially."
