A few months ago, CBS’s risky horror offering Moonlight was a vampire series suffering from dull fangs. Not only was the concept kind of tired, a private eye afflicted with a taste for human blood and very low sun tolerance, but the initial casting and story development was far from compelling.
Enter Angel co-creator David Greenwalt. Not only does he have Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer on his resume, he is also a proven good luck charm for genre efforts in general including Eureka, Jake 2.0, The X-Files, and more.
Greenwalt made quick of retooling the show since joining the production early last month. So far, only one major cast member, Alex O’Loughlin as Mick St. John, has been retained and there is talk of Greenwalt luring some of his Buffy and Angel writers into the fray.
CBS will be pairing Moonlight with its spooky Friday night staple Ghost Whisperer, which will be returning for a new season. Like NBC’s sci-fi block we reported on yesterday, CBS seems to be banking on Ghost Whisperer’s fans taking a shine to Moonlight.
Like Angel and Buffy, Moonlight centers on a secret war waging between the forces of the night. St. John, a relatively young vampire by their terms, struggles between the sides as he fights to keep his life a secret from his mortal lover.
Most of the casting changes seem to be efforts to young-down the cast, or pull in stars with more genre credentials. A perfect example is Sophia Myles, who will be joining the production as Mick’s human love interest. Her previous big screen credits include “From Hell,” and the two “Underworld” movies.
At the CBS press tour this morning, CBS executive Nina Tassler expressed satisfaction with Greenwalt’s major changes. “Obviously, he is well skilled in this particular genre.” She told the reporters gathered.
– Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: TVGuide
(Image Courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
