Let the Right One In TV Series Gets First-Look Photos and New Story Details

The 2004 novel Let the Right One In from author John Ajvide Lindqvist was first adapted into a film in 2008 by Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson, only to then earn another adaptation from The Batman director Matt Reeves back in 2010, with the concept once again being adapted into live-action, though in the form of a TV series on Showtime. Entertainment Weekly has our first look at the new TV series, which stars Eleanor Kane as a young vampire and Demián Bichir as her father Mark. Additionally, showrunner Andrew Hinderaker shared details about how he honored the source material while also shifting focus for this new take on the material.

“The [original] film is about a relationship between an isolated bullied boy and an isolated lonely girl, who we learn is a vampire,” Hinderaker shared with the outlet. “What I found so compelling about that film is there’s a much smaller relationship between the vampire and [her] adult caretaker. I really used the film as inspiration for a story that really focuses on a 12-year-old girl who has been a vampire for 10 years. She has been taken care of by her father, who keeps her alive, who keeps them ahead of the law, and who has kept hope alive for both of them that one day they will find a cure and this won’t be her life always.”

Grace Gummer, Kevin Carroll, Jacob Buster, Nick Stahl, and Željko Ivanek also star in the film.

 “This is the story of a father and his daughter and all the obstacles they have to conquer and overcome in order to keep themselves alive,” Bichir detailed of the project. “Mark’s daughter has been infected, so to speak, with a very, very strange and terrible virus, disease, however you want to call it. I’m saying [it like] this because, to me, this story goes beyond any vampire story. To me, this is about many other things that we’re actually experiencing. It’s about how difficult it is in any society for anyone to be different and to try to fit in.”

With nearly 200 reviews, the first adaptation is immensely acclaimed, sitting at 98% positive reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. While not quite as universally loved, the Reeves-directed film Let Me In also had a strong critical showing, as it sits at 88% positive reviews.

A key component of the story is how the young vampire befriends a boy who moves into the same apartment complex, a relationship which will still be prominent in this TV series.

“It was important to me to aspire to capture the spirit of the film and for the show to be a love letter to it,” Hinderaker expressed. “In the film, there is that relationship between the two children that is so pivotal in terms of what makes it iconic, what makes it so beautiful. So, this father and daughter move next door to another 12-year-old child, Isaiah, a boy who is isolated and bullied. Isaiah and Madison, our vampire, form a truly powerful and precarious friendship that’s made all the more precarious because Isaiah’s mother is a homicide detective.” 

Stay tuned for details on the Let the Right One In TV series. 

Are you looking forward to the new series? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!