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A Purge TV Series Is In The Works, Get The Details

In the last three years, The Purge movies have proven to be a big, growing success on the silver screen. Each film --written and directed by James DeMonaco -- has managed to do better at the box office than its predecessor, and as a result the future of the series is quite bright. In fact, not only will we still see more movies in the future, but now a Purge television series is in active development.

With The Purge: Election Year arriving on Blu-ray and DVD next week, I had the pleasure of hopping on the phone with James DeMonaco for a one-on-one interview this morning, and it was during our conversation that he revealed the exciting news of the in-the-works Purge show. While discussing the franchise's high-concept idea and its surprising flexibility from a narrative perspective, I asked the writer/director if there was a chance of potentially seeing a television series in the future, and he enthusiastically responded in the affirmative. Said DeMonaco,

Dude, it's so weird you bring that up. Yes! Not an anthology... I guess kind of an anthology -- more of an interwoven anthology. They came to me about a TV show, my idea is that you do six or seven storylines. And I would kind of intercut them, use flashbacks.

James DeMonaco went on to note that his ideal format for the show is more oriented for cable, describing it as playing out over the course of 10 hours (presumably meaning 10 episodes). Explaining why he felt that television was a good fit, the Purge mastermind said that having that much runtime versus 90 minutes would allow him to really dig inside the mind of a "purger" and let audiences really see what is driving them to kill on Purge Night. Said DeMonaco,

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. Whether it's revenge or out of passion, but what might be interesting in a TV show is with a flashback narrative, if you start on Purge Night but you go back to show how people have gotten to where they are. Where you see a couple that's gone haywire on this night, but let's show everything that's led up to this moment of a husband trying to kill a wife -- the cheating or the accusations of cheating or money problems. 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.

Perhaps even more exciting than all of these details about the Purge television series is the fact that it may not be a long time before we actually find ourselves watching it. Given the clear amount of thought that has gone into the project, I asked James DeMonaco about the status of the show and if we could see even see it in the next year, and he told me that things are indeed moving quickly in development:

I think so, dude, yeah! They're far ahead on the TV front... pretty far ahead. Not to get into the nuance of how it all goes down, we're talking about deals right now, money is being spoken about. Things like that. So I think it's being taken very seriously from the higher-ups who obviously dictate everything.

This is obviously extremely exciting news for fans of The Purge movies, and you can be sure that we will keep you up to date about more project details in the future. For now, stay tuned for a lot more great stuff from my interview with James DeMonaco, and pick up your copy of The Purge: Election Year on Blu-ray and DVD on October 4th.

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Blumhouse Television will team with Universal Cable Productions and franchise creator James DeMonaco on The Purge, which will air on USA and Syfy. The franchise — about one day each year when murder and mayhem is legalized — hatched its highest grossing effort so far with the recent The Purge: Election Year. While the next Purge feature will be released by Universal summer 2018, DeMonaco will oversee the series which will be an entirely new chapter in America’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness. Platinum Dunes and DeMonaco’s longtime producing partner Sebastien K. Lemercier will executive produce the series.

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NBCUniversal’s Monday upfront presentation featured Blumhouse topper Jason Blum who talked about the upcoming Purge series.

From Blumhouse Television, a co-venture with ITV Studios, and Universal Cable Productions, Purge is slated to run on both USA and Syfy in 2018 when the fourth movie in the Blumhouse/Universal franchise will also be released.

Written, directed and executive produced by the film franchise creator James DeMonaco, the series had been described as “an entirely new chapter in America’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness”.

At the upfront presentations today, Blum shed light on the premiere of the series with more details.

“It will reveal to the fans what happens the other 364 days of the year and how that law affects people,” he said.

Platinum Dunes and DeMonaco’s longtime producing partner Sebastien K. Lemercier will also executive produce the series.

The feature Purge franchise — about one day each year when murder and mayhem is legalized — has been on the rise, hatching its highest grossing effort so far with the most recent third movie, The Purge: Election Year.

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Syfy and USA Network's forthcoming The Purge TV series has cast its leads.

Gabriel Chavarria (War for the Planet of the Apes) and Jessica Garza (Six) will star in the scripted drama for both NBCUniversal-owned cable networks.

Announced in April as part of Blumhouse's ITV-backed studio deal, The Purge stems from Blumhouse’s hugely successful horror franchise from creator James DeMonaco. Blumhouse TV will serve as the lead studio on the small-screen adaptation. The 10-episode, straight-to-series drama is being written and exec produced by DeMonaco. Platinum Dunes and DeMonaco’s longtime producing partner Sebastien K. Lemercier will executive produce the series. Thomas Kelly is on board as an exec producer and showrunner of the Universal Cable Productions and Blumhouse Television drama. The cross-genre show will air on both of Chris McCumber's NBCU-owned cable networks.

Chavarria will play Miguel, a U.S. Marine with a hard edge and a noble mission. After receiving a cryptic letter from his little sister, he returns to town on Purge Night — prepared to face the senseless violence in the streets alone in order to protect what he loves most — his family. The casting reunites the actor with Jason Blum following his starring role in the company's Lowriders feature. Sources say Chavarria's role in Lowriders made him the first choice to star in The Purge TV series with the actor getting a straight offer without having to audition. Repped by Paradigm, Chavarria's credits also include Hulu's East Los High, Aquarius, Southland and feature Freedom Writers.

Garza, meanwhile, will play Penelope, a woman who belongs to a Purge-worshipping cult. Having pledged herself to be sacrificed at the behest of their charismatic leader, Penelope’s faith is tested when she is exposed to the ghastly realities of the Purge. Garza's credits include History's Six, ABC's Modern Family, CBS' Pure Genius and NCIS as well as MTV's Sweet/Vicious. She's repped by Concept Talent, Principato-Young Entertainment and Jackoway Tyerman.

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Lili Simmons (Ray Donovan), Hannah Anderson (New Mutants) and Lee Tergesen (Oz) have booked series regular roles in The Purge for USA Network and Syfy.

The project comes from franchise creator James DeMonaco, Blumhouse Television — the TV division of the movies’ producer Blumhouse Prods. — and Universal Cable Productions. The franchise, about the one day each year when murder and mayhem is legalized, hatched its highest-grossing effort so far with the recent installment, 2016’s The Purge: Election Year. DeMonaco oversees the series, which will be an entirely new chapter in America’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness and is slated to launch in conjunction with the next installment in the movie franchise, The First Purge.

Simmons will play Lila, a young, rich, and rebellious, woman who refuses to fit in with the pro-Purge socialite crowd. Her confidence and charm mask a vulnerability that will be exposed as she attempts to deal with unfinished business before the sun rises.

Anderson will portray Jenna, an anti-Purge and devoted to charitable causes, who is accustomed to locking down on Purge Night. Her choice to venture out for the first time leads to an encounter with violence that forces her to deal with deep truths about herself and her marriage.

Tergesen is Joe, an armored, masked, and seemingly ordinary man who drives through town, intervening acts of Purge violence while listening to the taped lectures of a motivational life coach.

The ensemble cast includes Gabriel Chavarria, Jessica Garza, Amanda Warren, Colin Woodell.

The films’ Platinum Dunes and DeMonaco’s longtime producing partner Sebastien K. Lemercier will executive produce. Anthony Hemingway directs and Thomas Kelly serves as executive producer/showrunner.

Simmons can currently be seen as Natalie James on Showtime’s Ray Donovan and in independent film Good Match. Her past TV credits include HBO’s Westworld and True Detective, Cinemax’s Banshee and CBS’ Hawaii Five O.

Anderson recently wrapped the latest X-Men feature New Mutants for director Simon Kinberg. She can also be seen in Legacy, the re-boot of the Saw franchise and What Keeps You Alive, which recently screened at SXSW. Past credits include Canadian series Shoot the Messenger, History Channel miniseries Gangland Undercover and The CWs Reign.

Tergesen starred opposite Christopher Meloni and JK Simmons in HBO’s Oz. He recurred in Season 2 of The Americans and will be seen in the upcoming NBC Universal/International series Gone. He’ll next be seen in feature in The Yellow Birds, starring Jennifer Aniston.

Simmons is repped by United Talent, Kate Linden Management, and attorney Stuart Rosenthal. Anderson is repped by Primary Wave Entertainment, Gersh and Gary Goddard Agency in Canada. Tergesen is repped by Industry Entertainment and Gersh.

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During a 12-hour period when all crime -- including murder -- is legal, a group of seemingly unrelated characters cross paths in a city in an altered America. While the clock winds down, some will fight, some will hide, others will embrace what it means to Purge to its fullest extent -- whether for revenge, personal gain, protection, or unadulterated glee. As each character is forced to reckon with his or her past and plot how to better their futures, they soon discover how far they will go on Purge Night.

The Purge will premiere Tuesday, September 4 at 10/9c on USA Network with the premiere and finale episodes simulcast on SYFY.

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