It’s been nearly a year since we were first introduced to M. Night Shyamalan’s creepy small town drama, Wayward Pines. That first sneak peek trailer hinted at a bizarre, dream-like serial – and this latest one from Fox continues to explore that Lynchian tone. Based on the novel Pines by Blake Crouch, the event series was developed for the small screen by Chad Hodge, with the aforementioned Sixth Sense helmer on board to produce and direct the pilot.
The limited series stars Matt Dillon as a Secret Service agent on the hunt for two missing federal agents in Wayward Pines, Idaho. As he ventures deeper into the town’s seedy underbelly, his investigation turns far more sinister than he imagined. Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Carla Gugino, Toby Jones, and Juliette Lewis also star as a ragatg crew of the town’s residents.
As I mentioned in my overview of the first teaser, the show’s central premise, tone and themes appear to be directly lifted from David Lynch and Mark Frost’s seminal drama, Twin Peaks. This fresh new trailer definitely confirms that, and also throws in a few more pop culture homages, from Shyamalan’s own film The Village right up to Cabin In The Woods.
Check out the new preview above before Wayward Pines debuts on Thursday, May 14, at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
Imagine the perfect American town… beautiful homes, manicured lawns, children playing safely in the streets. Now imagine never being able to leave. You have no communication with the outside world. You think you’re going insane. You must be in Wayward Pines. Secret Service Agent ETHAN BURKE (Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon, “Crash,” “City of Ghosts”) drives to the bucolic town of Wayward Pines, ID, searching for two missing federal agents. One of the best Secret Service agents in the Seattle office, he’s the man who knew missing agent KATE HEWSON (Carla Gugino, “Watchmen,” “Entourage”) better than anyone. They were more than partners; their relationship nearly destroyed Ethan’s marriage.
Everything changes when a truck slams into his car…and he wakes up in the Wayward Pines Hospital, with the intense and unpredictable NURSE PAM (Academy Award and Emmy Award winner Melissa Leo, “The Fighter,” “Treme”) at his bedside. It soon appears that Pam is more interested in harming than healing. She and Ethan grow into deadly rivals, and her role in the town proves much deeper than anyone realizes.