Sundance Channel to Air The Returned this Halloween

Sundance Channel has announced today that it has acquired the US broadcast rights to air the French supernatural drama “The Returned.”

“The Returned” is an eight-part series based on the movie “Les Revenants” by Robin Campillo.  The series was created by Fabrice Gobert and was very well received when it originally aired in France and the UK.  The Independent hailed “The Returned” as “one of the greatest, creepiest, most compelling shows brought to British TV screens in 2013.”  Considering some of the productions that have been put on British TV, that’s pretty high praise.

According to the press release, the series is set “in an idyllic French mountain town, [where] a seemingly random collection of people find themselves in a state of confusion as they attempt to return to their homes. What they don’t know yet is that they have been dead for several years, and no one is expecting them back. As they struggle to reintegrate with their families and past lovers, buried secrets emerge and new mysteries develop as they grapple with a miraculous and sinister new reality.  But it seems they are not the only ones to have returned from the dead. Their arrival coincides with a series of gruesome murders which bear a chilling resemblance to the work of a serial killer from the past.”

“We decided to take zombies to a new and utterly original level— we made them French!” stated Sarah Barnett, President of Sundance Channel. “‘The Returned’ is smart entertainment that shocks and entertains at every turn. We think our audience will love how this series grounds the supernatural in deeply human emotions.”

While the series is being described as being about zombies, it appears that it’s not the traditional “Urrrrrgh, brains!” zombies.  Rather, it seems to be more in spirit than in actual definition.  Still, the promise of supernatural elements and a killer mystery has me really intrigued.  The fact that it’s an eight part series is also a welcomed relief, it means we won’t have to wait years and years to get some answers.  EDIT: Or maybe not, as a user in the comments pointed out that this is simply season one.  Apologies!

“The Returned” premieres on Sundance Channel on Halloween, Thursday, October 31st at 9PM ET/PT.  Then it will air every Thursday night at 9PM. Journey below to check out a couple of photos and a trailer for the series when it debuted in the UK.

THE RETURNED 00087: L to R, Clotilde Hesme and Pierre Perrier – in the Sundance Channel series “The Returned” – Photo Credit: Jean Claude Lother

THE RETURNED 00131: L to R, Anne Consigny, Yara Pilartz, Frédéric Pierrot, and Jenna Thiam – in the Sundance Channel series “The Returned” – Photo Credit: Jean Claude Lother