The Following Video Looks At Kevin Bacon And James Purefoy's Characters

Among the handful of shows that we selected as the top new series we can't wait to start watching this winter is Kevin Williamson's suspenseful looking Fox thriller The Following. Fox has wisely been sharing promotional content for the drama over the last couple of months, and among the more recent videos is one that talks about the intentions of serial killer Joe Carroll and Kevin Bacon's character, FBI Agent Ryan Hardy.

The Following stars Kevin Bacon as an FBI agent who's brought out of retirement to pursue convicted serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy). In addition to escaping, Carroll's also been developing a group of devoted followers , which explains the title of the new series.

The video below features clips from the drama, some of which should be familiar if you've seen the previously released trailers and previews. But it also includes series creator Kevin Williamson as well as Bacon and Carroll as they talk about the series.

"He has created a web of serial kills, and he has a big, big plan that only he knows," Purefoy says of his character, Joe Carroll. "I've never seen a show like this on primetime. It gets under your skin in a deep and disturbing way."

"It is a f---in' scary show," Kevin Bacon says.

It sounds scary, and more than that, intriguing, especially the comments about Hardy and Carroll. I like that it sounds like Hardy's not this perfect hero and that maybe coming back to work is redemption for him in some way. As for Carroll, the thought of him helping people tap into their inner serial killer is truly disturbing, but it could make for some really exciting television from a drama perspective. There are certainly places to go with a character like that.

The Following premieres Monday, January 21 on Fox. Read about some of the other shows we're excited for here.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly put her life-long love of movies, TV and books to greater use when she joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006, and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before joining the staff full-time in 2011 and moving over to other roles at the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing features, analyzing site data, working with writers and editors on content planning and the workflow, and (of course) continuing to obsess over the best movies and TV shows (those that already exist, and the many on the way). She graduated from SUNY Cortland with BA in Communication Studies and a minor in Cinema Studies. When she isn't working, she's probably thinking about work, or reading (or listening to a book), and making sure her cats are living their absolute best feline lives.