‘Only outsiders fit in.’
Midnight, Texas is a 2017 American supernatural NBC television series based on the book series of the same name by author Charlaine Harris who also wrote The Southern Vampire Mysteries, the novels which were adapted into the True Blood television series. It stars François Arnaud, Dylan Bruce and Parisa Fitz-Henley.
Reviews:
“Even a show like the underrated Supernatural has found ways to tweak the formula in ways that Midnight, Texas feels afraid to do. It doesn’t help that Arnaud isn’t an engaging lead, but it’s more a world creation problem here in that none of this has enough personality. It’s a show about vampires, shapeshifters, assassins, and mediums that still finds a way to be boring. That’s almost an accomplishment.” Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
“Little touches of character-driven darkness toward the end of the five episodes I watched maybe hinted at better things ahead for the show. I just don’t see the pieces in place at the center of the cast or in the creative aspirations for Midnight, Texas to be anything more than a PG-rated version of what ought to be a decadent and overblown summer guilty pleasure.” Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter
“Although the show’s NBC home greatly limits how far the show can go with sex, violence and the like, Midnight, Texas does squeeze in enough intrigue to keep viewers eager for more. In particular, Fitz-Henley — who viewers may remember as Luke Cage’s deceased wife Reva from Jessica Jones and Luke Cage — brings a bubbly sense of energy and righteous indignation to the forefront…” Robert Yaniz Jr., Screen Rant
Cast and characters:
- François Arnaud as Manfred Bernardo, a psychic who moves to Midnight trying to outrun trouble that is following him
- Dylan Bruce as Bobo Winthrop, a pawn shop owner
- Parisa Fitz-Henley as Fiji Cavanaugh, a witch
- Arielle Kebbel as Olivia, a freelance assassin with as many secrets as guns
- Jason Lewis as Joe Strong, a fallen angel who can sense that darkness is heading towards Midnight
- Sarah Ramos as Creek, a decidedly mortal waitress
- Peter Mensah as Lemuel, a vampire with a dark past who first came to Midnight in the 1950s and never left
- Yul Vazquez as Reverand Emilio Sheehan, a weretiger
- Sean Bridgers as the Sheriff from the nearby town of Davey, who meets an unfortunate end
Episodes:
| No. | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Pilot” | Niels Arden Oplev | Monica Owusu-Breen | July 24, 2017 | 3.57 |
| Pursued by a mysterious man named Hightower, young psychic Manfred Barnardo flees his life in Dallas and moves to the mysterious town of Midnight, Texas. While there, he meets the locals and forms a bond with a waitress named Creek. However, soon after his arrival the many members of the town begin to show impossible secrets, and a young woman named Aubrey Harrison is found dead.
Manfred attempts to connect with Aubrey’s spirit to solve her murder, but accidentally floods his house full of ghosts and evil spirits. Manfred uses her tip-off on his Ouija board to locate the murder weapon, which the police link to his landlord and Aubrey’s fiancee Bobo. At the end of the episode, Bobo is arrested, much to the disbelief of the local community, especially local “wiccan” Fiji, who attacks the police car with magic. Manfred returns to his house to find it glowing orange and filled with ghosts and evil spirits. |
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| 2 | “Bad Moon Rising” | David Solomon | Monica Owusu-Breen | July 31, 2017 | 3.29 |
| Manny enlists the help of the other ‘Midnighters’ to try and get rid of the ghosts and demonic entity haunting his house, and Fiji performs an exorcism to try and encourage the spirits to move. Meanwhile, Manny tries to help clear Boba’s name by allowing Aubrey to inhabit his body so that he can see what happened to her, before relaying this to the sheriff at Davey, who still seems sceptical. The sheriff’s deputy makes a fatal error when she decides to investigate noises coming from the Reverend’s cellar, causing chaos throughout the town, which Lemuel, Manny, Fiji and Olivia try to clear up. The demonic entity in Manny’s home turns out to be a lot more powerful than it first seems, causing serious problems for Fiji. | |||||
| 3 | “Lemuel, Unchained” | David Solomon | Turi Meyer & Al Septien | August 7, 2017 | 3.06 |
| An old friend of Lemuel’s arrives in town with a nest of vampires, though it’s soon revealed that there’s more to his visit than a reunion. Joe reveals who he is to the Reverend, and his fears about what’s happening in the town. As Manny and the others prepare for a fight, Bobo and Fiji grow closer. Creek and her father clash over her relationship with Manny. | |||||
| 4 | “Sexy Beast” | TBA | TBA | August 14, 2017 | TBD |
| 5 | “Unearthed” | TBA | TBA | August 21, 2017 | TBD |
| 6 | “Blinded by the Light” | TBA | TBA | August 28, 2017 | TBD |
