INTERVIEW: Nick Antosca opens up about his latest Creepypasta adaptation
Channel Zero has been a great success for Syfy, with fans clamoring for more stories from showrunner Nick Antosca. The current season is called Channel Zero: No-End House, and it’s based on the Internet short story (known as a Creepypasta) by Brian Russell. This second season follows on the heels of Channel Zero’s successful inaugural season, dubbed Candle Cove.
The new series, which airs episodes Wednesdays at 10 p.m., finds a woman (Amy Forsyth) journeying through a bizarre haunted house with a set of rooms that become increasingly dangerous and disturbing. Recently, Antosca took part in a group conference call with journalists. He’s what he told Hollywood Soapbox.
On the qualities of a Creepypasta that make for a good TV show adaptation …
“There needs to be a kernel there, something that’s unique and specific. It’s the haunted TV show in Candle Cove, and for No-End House, it’s this house where each room is scarier than the last. And then it has to have — not exactly an open ending — but has to leave a lot of road for us to travel, and a lot of room for us to invent.
“So, I look for a great story that I’m excited by, that also provides an opportunity for us to put our own stamp on it. We have a writers’ room that is full of great genre talent, like Don Mancini and Harley Peyton, and I want to be able to elaborate on these great core concepts with the writers.”
On being renewed so early in the process and whether that helps plan the next season …
“A part of the concept of our show is the idea that each season, we’ll get to do something different. And being able to do the first two seasons, to know that we had two seasons to do that as a proof of concept was helpful.
“So, the fact that we were able to do Candle Cove and No-End House, back-to-back, meant that we could be very conscious of what things we wanted to keep consistent, and where we wanted to change it up and surprise the viewer. And Syfy has been super-supportive of what we did, and they’ve been great partners. And the fact that we were able to do these two seasons at once, each time, also comes from the financial model of the show, which is important for any show, and for maintaining longevity for a show.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Channel Zero: No-End House continues Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Syfy. Click here for more information. Click here for Hollywood Soapbox’s previous interview with Nick Antosca.
