Cinemax has nowhere near the demonstrated quality of comparable premium cable networks like HBO and Showtime, but that might be starting to change with next year’s premiere of Outcast, from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.
Based on Kirkman’s comic, the series will center on Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit), a man who has been tormented by spiritual possessions for as long as he can remember. As an adult, Kyle sets out to uncover the reason behind his affliction, uncovering dark and terrible secrets in the course of his journey.
Here’s the synopsis:
Outcast follows Kyle Barnes, a young man who has been plagued by demonic possession all his life. Now, with the help of the Reverend Anderson, a preacher with personal demons of his own, Kyle embarks on a journey to find answers and regain the normal life he lost. But what Kyle discovers could change his fate — and the fate of the world — forever.
Patrick Fugit (“Gone Girl”) stars as Barnes, a man searching for answers, and for redemption, who sequesters himself from those he loves for fear of causing greater hurt. Philip Glenister (“Life on Mars”) stars as Reverend Anderson, a West Virginia evangelist who believes he is a soldier in God’s holy war against the forces of evil on Earth. An inveterate drinker and gambler, he doesn’t believe God intends people to sweat the small stuff. Gabriel Bateman (“Stalker”) stars as Joshua Austin, an eight-year-old who lives across town from Kyle. To his family’s dismay, he appears to be in the clutches of demonic possession, but there’s something very different about this possession and its connection to Kyle Barnes.
10 episodes of Outcast have been ordered for 2016, and the pilot is set to be directed by Adam Wingard (The Guest, You’re Next). Based on the first trailer, this is going to be one creepy show, and with Cinemax attempting to bolster its lineup with genuine drama, Outcast will fit the bill quite nicely.
