Last week saw the release of the first season of October Faction, a new series on Netflix based on the comics by Steve Niles and Damien Worm. Executive produced by Krypton and Sleepy Hollow veteran Damian Kindler, the series centers on a family headed by parents who are secretly monster hunters…and their kids, who develop abilities. That “secret” part had to inform some of the casting choices and, Kindler told ComicBook.com, one of the challenges that he and the rest of the crew had to take on was finding series leads who could carry a show without looking and feeling like the stereotypical lead for a sci-fi/fantasy/horror show.
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After all, a “secret” adventurer should be able to sell his covery story. Kindler joked that a lot of series leads look like they should be punching bears, not doing somebody’s taxes, and that wouldn’t sell the story.
“I had Tamara [Taylor], who is so talented, and such a joy to work with, she’s like a sister to me,” Kindler explained. “She has a fantastic sense of humor and she’s just really, really, passionate about the work she does. Having her come in and play a woman who has the abilities to kill, and leads a double life — that was something that was unexpected. Same with casting J.C. MacKenzie, who is Martin Scorsese’s go-to character actor and Aaron Sorkin’s go-to guy, for filling in these crucial roles. Suddenly giving these people, who usually tend to play support roles, and giving them a chance to be believed to be the lead, to me made their characters feel more grounded and real. Because there’s some times you can cast in the lead and you’re like, ‘Well that’s obviously the lead actor.’ The dad’s a ripped dude who looks like he’s in the Navy SEAL. And any kid worth his salt would go, ‘My dad is obviously not a risk assessment insurance investor, he’s obviously some sort of secret agent.’ Whereas Jason MacKenzie, you’re like, ‘My dad is an embarrassing nerd who’s lovable and affable, but also he can kill a vampire with a single knife.’ To me, there was something fun about the unexpectedness. And also, when you watch the show and watch their stories unpack, you begin to realize why those actors were perfect. Because they each come from a kind of different part of that town, Barrington on Hudson. Fred, from a very, very, blue blood sons of the … fathers of the revolution family of white privilege, and she comes from the daughter of the widowed sheriff. They’re very star-crossed and their history as young people in that town motivates why they joined the Presidio — which is the organization that hunts the supernatural — and why they made the choices to live away, and how they parent. You’re not going to buy all that unless you have actors like J.C. and Tamara to anchor that those characters. So, the casting was important. You need to have a very approachable, accessible, human element.”
October Faction is now available to stream on Netflix.
