Bryan Fuller seemed to have hinted at this on his official Twitter, but now a recent report seems to confirm it: should the Halloween special – and pilot episode – of “Mockingbird Lane” do well in the ratings, NBC may consider picking it up as a full series (as intended). When talking to TV Guide, Bryan elaborated on the decisions made from NBC, balancing two television shows, and the creative process behind “Mockingbird” (including working with director, Bryan Singer). Check out an excerpt below, then head to the source for the full interview.

TV Guide Magazine: What do you hope will come out of NBC’s “Mockingbird Lane” screening?
Bryan Fuller: Airing a pilot as a standalone seems unheard of, but when you actually see the “Mockingbird Lane” pilot it has a beginning, middle and an end. It’s an emotional story of a family told in such an unconventional way, and with so many different tools that we have at our disposal because it’s “The Munsters” and not a regular family unit. It’s such a different show that it merits a different way of getting it out to the audience.

If we get a huge number, all the cast are in line to be picked up and to go to series. And that was one of the things that NBC wanted to make sure, that they had all of the cast deals in line — so that if we did get a big number and audiences proved their appetite for this type of show, that they could move very quickly.

There was talk initially of putting it on in the spring and doing 5 or 6 episodes. But I think because it’s Halloween and because “Grimm” is doing very well for them, their impetus was, “Let’s get it out there to the audience now and have audiences really react to it.” I stand by the show, so I’m like, great, let’s get it out there, let’s get people to watch it. At its core it’s a story about a family trying to carve a path in the world for a son who has challenges. It’s intimately relatable, but we get to tell that story with monsters.

TV Guide Magazine: Do you worry that it’s so last minute that word might not get out?
Fuller: My fantasy of the show getting out there is people say, “Wow, this is one of the best NBC pilots of the fall, and it’s great that it’s airing and everyone should take a peek at it.”

It’s gorgeous, every frame is sumptuous. You get to have these really interesting actors coming in and taking their spins on these classic characters. I love the original “Munsters” and didn’t want to step on it in any way of putting people in Frankenstein makeup and Dracula makeup. So we went our own direction.

TV Guide Magazine: We were expecting to hear of a pickup way back in August. What’s the holdup at NBC?
Fuller: Because the show is a different type of show, it’s hard to categorize. We are a family show, yet we’re a monster show. We are a heightened world but we have accessible emotions. There’s not another show out there like this, except for “Pushing Daisies.” And honestly, that may be a concern for some folks because “Pushing Daisies” was such a very specific vision. I think everyone is wondering, is it too niche for a network show? That may be part of the concern. But the fact that they’re putting it on the air is a huge vote of confidence. If they didn’t believe in this show it would not air.

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The first preview for “Mockingbird Lane” has been released! This is the first publicly released look at the upcoming show, slated to debut as a Halloween special, and it definitely has the Bryan Fuller flair his fans know and love. The preview aired after “Grimm” on NBC earlier this evening, so hopefully it garnered enough interest in potential audience members to get good ratings. It appears that it performs well, NBC will pick up a full series (as intended), so be sure to tell everyone to tune into “Mockingbird Lane” on NBC, October 26th!

Ten new episode stills from the upcoming Halloween special of “Mockingbird Lane” have been added to the gallery. Finally, we get a pretty good look at the family of supernatural beings, including the makeup used on Jerry O’Connell (remember: he’s playing a being slowly rotting away), the beautifully intricate costumes, and some interior shots of the mansion. The special will air on October 26th — and be sure to watch it! Some have hinted that, if the ratings are good, NBC may proceed forward with the show.

There have been a lot of rumors about the fate of “Mockingbird Lane” floating around in the last week, but I didn’t want to mislead fans with any false rumors. Now it’s been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter that “Mockingbird Lane” – Bryan Fuller’s reboot of “The Munsters” – will air on NBC as an hour-long Halloween special.

[T]he network has decided to air the pricey $10 million pilot, which has been in development for two years.

As THR has detailed, “Mockingbird Lane” has endured a long, tortured history at NBC, and the network was considering whether to scrap the project altogether. The reboot was originally launched before current chariman Bob Greenblatt came on board in early 2011, but Greenblatt redeveloped it extensively.

Yet Fuller and [Bryan] Singer are said to have had differing opinions about the style of the pilot, and the final version is said to have come in below the network’s expectations. With Fuller now busy shooting NBC’s 13-episode “Hannibal” series, he’s not able to work on “Mockingbird.” So NBC has been considering all options to salvage the property.

“Mockingbird Lane” will air on Friday, October 26th at 8PM (before “Grimm”).

Bryan Fuller has already mentioned that chef Jose Andres would be a food consultant on the set of “Hannibal,” but a new article has just surfaced that goes more into detail on the subject. Andres talks about what kind of recipes to expect, and where he drew some of his inspiration from. When asked whether he’s nervous his cannibalistic recipes will chase people away from his restaurants, he reassures people “it’s just TV!” Check out the article below, or head over to the Washington Post for the full thing.

Add yet another line to the epic resume of celebrity chef Jose Andres: culinary consultant for the forthcoming NBC series “Hannibal,” based on the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter.

You remember Lecter. He’s the mad man from Silence of the Lambs who professed a fondness for human liver “with some fava beans and a nice chianti [insert scary tongue noise here].”

Andres says he was tapped by producer and screenwriter Bryan Fuller to flesh out the character, so to speak, by showing what a culinary sophisticate the cannibalistic psychiatrist was, pre-incarceration. There will be references to French chef Auguste Escoffier and fine wines, says the chef, and a scene featuring loin — but not pork or beef loin — with roasted apples and Cumberland sauce. Eventually, “every single body part” will factor into the show, says Andres, who adds that his research included eating”“a lot of lung dishes this summer.” (Lung, from animals, is popular in Italy and Spain.)

Putting in a plug for his native Spain, he says human bones found in the ancient Atapuerca caves in the north of the country show evidence of man eating man, perhaps in the belief that the consumer might absorb the conquered party’s power — but possibly also just because he could.

Andres was eager to accept the assignment from Fuller, who won an Emmy Award for his work on “Pushing Daisies.” “This is beyond cannibalism,” says the chef. “It’s about people who have dark sides and dark stories.” His restaurant team had initial doubts about the project. “This is TV!” he told them. “I’m going to lose customers doing this? I don’t think so.”

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Andres hesitates to share too much about his work on the series, which has not been given an air date yet. Some of his ideas might end up on the cutting room floor, he explains. But the chef suggests viewers watch for a party scene with food prepared by Lecter and also an “interesting” new way to prepare a Fuller favorite, mushrooms.

“I want Hannibal to have the same passion as Jose Andres has,” says Fuller, the creator of the 13 episode show, which is currently shooting in Toronto and stars Mads Mikkelsen as the cannibalistic psychiatrist before prison. (His advice to the actor: “Do not read any serial killer books. Look at cookbooks.”)

While the series will show Hannibal “at his most peacock and expansive,” Fuller says, the character will be seen cooking, rather than sourcing his main ingredients, to “make him more relatable and less a villain.”

Lecter is no garden variety flesh eater, says Fuller. The character thinks of his victims like this: “You are a pig of a human being and you deserve to become someone’s bacon.”

Pass the wine, please.

SOURCE

I also want to apologize for the lack of updates lately. I’m currently working on a press archive for the site, which will feature all the greatest Bryan Fuller articles and interviews. I’m hoping it’ll serve as a comprehensive library for fans like me, who are writers looking for deeper insight into one of the most brilliant minds around right now. It should go live soon, but please be patient!

After two-years of being in development, Syfy has ordered a 90-minute pilot episode for yet another new series, “High Moon,” according to Deadline. As a previously reported, “High Moon” is an adaptation of John Christopher’s sci-fi novel The Lotus Caves, a summary of which can be read below:

“High Moon” creates a future where the countries of Earth have established colonies to mine the Moon’s resources. When a new life form is discovered, chaos erupts as various factions race to uncover and exploit its powerful secrets.

Mark Stern, Syfy’s president of original content, stated that the story is “a fresh and compelling vision of an exotic new world driven by character, intrigue and greed.” Production is expected to begin in Vancouver this fall, with Robert Halmi Sr. and Bryan Fuller serving as executive producers and Jim Danger Gray (who worked on “Pushing Daisies”) exec producing and writing.

In even more “Hannibal” casting news, Caroline Dhavernas and Aaron Abrams have joined the upcoming Bryan Fuller series. According to Hollywood Reporter, Dhavernas will be playing Dr. Alana Bloom, “a psychology professor at the University of Chicago who also works as a consultant profiler for the FBI.” Fullerverse fans will be familiar with her work, as she played Jaye in the beloved but short-lived series, “Wonderfalls.”

Aaron Abrams of “L.A. Complex” has also joined the cast as Brian Zeller, “one of three crime scene investigators working with the agency.” Check out more information on their characters below:

“Wonderfalls” star Dhavernas’ character is an academic who does her best to keep her work at a strict intellectual distance from her private life, who knows that Will is spectacularly gifted at this kind of work — but believes he needs to keep many many firewalls between himself and the murderers he hunts. An honest, direct woman who would like to be Will’s friend, she fears that Jack Crawford’s recruitment of Will Graham might place Will in harm’s way. She ends up coming to Langley to be Will’s protector, and inadvertently falls for Jack.

Abrams’ Brian is a medical school graduate and tech geek who uses forensic evidence and clues from victims’ corpses to determine how they died and who could be responsible. He’s astounded by the absurdity of the serial killer’s tactics and amazed with Will’s insight into the killer’s mind.

A couple of days ago, it was reported that he was in negotiations, but now Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Laurence Fishburne has been cast in “Hannibal.” The Oscar-nominated actor who was recently seen in “CSI” will be playing Jack Crawford, the leader of the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit. Laurence will join the cast already consisting of Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, playing Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter (respectively). Bryan Fuller released the following statement to EW:

“Laurence Fishburne is an iconic man who has been making his cinematic mark since Apocalypse Now, and it’s a thrill not only to work with him but to see such a brilliant, sophisticated actor step into the shoes of Thomas Harris’ brilliant, sophisticated character. I cannot imagine a better cast for ‘Hannibal’ than the one we’ve assembled.”

NBC was awesome enough to upload the entire San Diego Comic-Con panel, A Conversation with Bryan Fuller, to their official YouTube page! The video is shot professionally, in HD, and covers “Mockingbird Lane,” “Hannibal,” and the Q&A segment with the audience about a myriad of Bryan Fuller projects. Much of the conversation has been reported on from several news sources, but it’s worth checking out the full panel anyhow for extra information and anecdotes.

While at 2012 Comic-Con, Bryan Fuller mentioned that he was working on a new “Pushing Daisies” project that was neither a comic book nor a miniseries. In a new interview (video above), Michael Ausiello added that the upcoming revival isn’t a film, either. When pressed if it was moving to Broadway, Bryan merely shrugged and said “perhaps.” What do you think, guys? Will we be seeing “Pushing Daisies” as a stage performance soon? An official announcement will be made once everything is arranged, but hopefully we can expect it soon!

The video above also has some great insight on Bryan’s new NBC shows, “Mockingbird Lane” and “Hannibal.” By the description, it sounds like “Mockingbird Lane” is going to be a feast for the eyes — while “Hannibal” might provide some… interesting recipe ideas.