An eight-year old American boy is found in China and repatriated by an immigration agent. Defying orders, the agent returns him to his parents in the small town of Arcadia, Missouri, only to discover that he had apparently drowned in 1982.
That’s the premise of the new eight-part US series Resurrection which has already been a smashing success in both America and Australia.
But despite its seemingly spooky, supernatural conceit, executive producer and writer Aaron Zelman insists it is essentially a show about a town and deliberately designed to make you wonder. “You may think it’s one thing, but by the end of an episode, it’s a little bit different.”
Former House star Omar Epps (who plays Agent J Martin Bellamy) agrees, saying that he was attracted to the project by the possibilities of where the story might go. “Then as each episode arrived, for me, it was ‘ooh, I didn’t see this coming’.”
Co-star Frances Fisher (Touch) has also embraced the story’s uncertainties. “I read the pilot and was so moved by it that I felt I could be part of this without knowing what’s going to happen in the future, because who really does in life”
Based on the 2013 novel The Returned (and contrary to popular belief not the similarly-themed French television series of that name) by Jason Mott, the show represents the first foray into television by Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B (World War Z, 12 Years A Slave). And yes, Zelman won’t rule out a cameo by their boss, “perhaps as a love interest” or “long-lost brother”.
Zelman’s fellow executive producer Michele Fazekas says the great thing about having a short season of just eight episodes was that they were able to plot everything out. “We knew where we were going in every