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‘Outcast’ Renewed For Season 2 On Cinemax, From ‘The Walking Dead’ Creator [Video]

By Nick Younker
Published on: 09:46 PST, Mar 14, 2016

Outcast has officially been renewed for Season 2 on Cinemax, nearly 3 months ahead of its Season 1 premiere date. That really says a lot about the strength of a series coming from the network, given that the public, with a few exceptions, has not had a chance to weigh in on the show yet.

According to Deadline, Outcast comes from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and is based on his comic book of the same name. Instead of fighting zombies in this series, though, the characters will be fighting demonic possessions in this dark take on the horror genre.

It also speaks volumes about the series to be renewed for Season 2 by Cinemax so early, which is a premium cable network that has been lagging far behind its closest competitors, HBO and Showtime.

What fans do know about the series is that Kirkman has been able to transform the genre of demonic possession into a show with similar power like he did with The Walking Dead. But that does not automatically mean that the show will get the mega-sized numbers that TWD has gotten on AMC.

Cinemax has renewed Outcast for Season 2 based on the strength of the content for the show, which has already premiered at SXSW this year and received a lot of critical acclaim.

If there is one thing that Kirkman knows how to do, that is to take an established genre of horror and transform it into a big audience draw. All he really does is tweak the rules of the genre a bit and gives it characters that fans fall in love with. Then, he plants a few seeds here and there and watches the characters and storylines grow into beautiful works of art.

Now that Outcast has been renewed for Season 2, the show is likely going to stretch its muscles quite a bit and put the story of demonic possessions into a wider perspective. It will also have the luxury of being on a premium cable network, which will allow it to be produced without censorship, much like The Sopranos.

Now that the hype about Outcast has been built by being renewed for Season 2, now it’s time to take a look at the characters and the story.

Outcast is basically all about a man, Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit), who has been plagued his entire life with demonic possessions. He does not know why demons are attracted to him, but he has always been a magnet for them to take over his body. This has taken its toll on him and now that he has grown up, he goes on a journey to learn more about his affliction, in search of a way to end the curse for good.

The problem is, Barnes does indeed find his answers and he also learns of a way to stop the curse. But that comes with an obvious consequence and if he pursues it, he could end all life on Earth.

Along his journey, he will be joined at some point by a holy man and a young boy who also has the same affliction as himself. If for nothing else, Barnes may be able to find a way to help or spare the young boy from a lifetime full of misery.

Kary Antholis, president, of original programming for Cinemax, spoke about Outcast and why it was renewed for Season 2.

“Going into the first season of Outcast, we knew that Robert Kirkman had once again created a world that would scare us to our core,” Antholis told Deadline. “But what he, Chris Black and the rest of their team have delivered has exceeded even those high expectations. We believe our viewers will immediately be sucked into Outcast‘s intense and creepy landscape, which is why we have chosen to pick up a second season.”

Fans can get ready for Season 1 on Cinemax coming up on June 3.

[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for AMC]

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