What Would Have Been – The Locke & Key trailer

Fox optioned and produced a pilot called Locke & Key based on the comic book series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.  They screened the pilot twice at Comic-Con this past summer and unfortunately I didn’t make it to either, much to Tracy’s dismay.  I think her one request of me was to start a grassroots movement to get Locke & Key picked up by a network.  Sorry, Tracy.  I failed you and based on this trailer (thanks, io9!) I wouldn’t blame you for holding it against me.

As I have not read the books I am only able to judge the trailer.  This looks like it would have been a kick-ass series.  The quality is so high it feels like a trailer for a movie.  Maybe seeing it (or worse, the pilot) is a bad thing because now I’m really bummed.

There have been some recent attempts at tv horror series (geeze, I can’t even remember the one from last year – something about people on an island for a wedding? Ooooh! Harper’s Island, maybe?)  FX looks to be taking a shot with American Horror Story.  That poster freaks me out but in a good way.  However, the trailers they have do nothing for me.  Obviously we don’t see much of what it’s about, not like the Locke & Key trailer.  The only real successful horror series has been The Walking Dead and that’s having its own issues right now.  And it’s really not *scary*.  Locke & Key looked scary.

Will it ever get picked up?  Sadly the likelihood is beyond slim.  It sounds like the network wasn’t convinced it would appeal to a large audience.  They have already given Fringe the benefit of the doubt by renewing it so many times when its audience is small but loyal.  It seems they didn’t want to risk it with a show like Locke & Key which might also have a small but loyal audience.  With the success of The Walking Dead it seems like it would be a good fit for AMC but maybe one show like that is enough for them.  Apparently Fox did shop it around but due to costs they gave up.