By Chris Evangelista/March 10, 2021 4:00 pm EST
Them Trailer
Created by Little Marvin and executive produced by Lena Waithe, Miri Yoon and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, David Matthews, and Don Kurt, Them is described as “a limited anthology series that explores terror in America,” with the following synopsis:
The cast includes Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Melody Hurd, and Ryan Kwanten. This is a very effective trailer, although a part of me wants to grumble about everyone calling this a terror anthology series instead of a horror anthology series, as if horror – a massively popular genre – is somehow a dirty word. That aside, the way this trailer is cut – giving us enough info on what’s going on without really giving anything away – works exceedingly well, and I’ve gone from not even being aware of this show to wanting to see it immediately.
The 1950s set first season centers on a Black family who moves from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood during the period known as The Great Migration. The family’s idyllic home becomes ground zero where malevolent forces, next-door and otherworldly, threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them.
“What terrifies you more? The sound down in the basement or a neighbor who has been constantly staring at your house?” series creator Little Marvin said during an event to launch the trailer. “In my experience, it’s that neighbor. The terror here roots the horrors in something deeply human.” Marvin added:
I’m very curious about Them, and I’m curious to see where future seasons go with the anthology format and this premise of exploring the horrors lurking in American society.
“Nothing is a more quintessential part of the American dream than home ownership. It’s a point of pride for Black folks to create and pass down intergenerational wealth. For this family, it has been anything but a dream. It’s been a nightmare, and I wanted to peel back the floorboards to interrogate that.”
