Cabinet of Curiosities: Andrew Lincoln Previews The Murmuring
Andrew Lincoln is teasing "the scariest, most appalling, nerve-shredding hour" of television to ever air on Netflix in Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. Before reprising the Rick Grimes role on The Walking Dead spin-off in the works at AMC Networks, Lincoln returns to TV in an episode of the horror anthology series reuniting The Babadook director Jennifer Kent and star Essie Davis. In "The Murmuring," written by Kent from an original short story by del Toro, Lincoln plays Edgar, a bereaved father who works as an ornithologist with his wife Nancy (Davis) at Cornell University. The tale isn't for the birds — or the faint of heart.
"When I heard Guillermo del Toro's name attached, I took it very, very seriously. And then equally when Jennifer Kent had written and wanted to make the first of this anthology," Lincoln told Netflix's Tudum. "I was very excited because The Babadook is a movie I adore, and The Nightingale is an astonishing film."
Series creator del Toro curated a collection of genre-defining stories "meant to challenge our traditional notions of horror" — from the macabre to magical, gothic to grotesque, or classically creepy — with Kent among eight filmmakers hand-picked by the Academy Award-winning Shape of Water filmmaker.
"I'm a big fan of horror and genre in general. I mean, you're talking to a man who's slaughtered a thousand zombies," Lincoln said of his nine seasons on The Walking Dead. "I'm a man practiced in the dark arts of horror and genre. And when it's done well, it's beautiful. Don't Look Now, The Shining, they're sort of essentially about loss and all trauma or relationships in crisis. They'll never recover from the death of a child, no one does. But they can certainly try and live on and continue to love each other. Those are the overarching themes in this thing. That's a really exciting area for actors to explore."
"The Murmuring" partners Lincoln with Davis, who he described as "a tremendously brave, true, extraordinary and powerful actor. And she's also a comedian!"
"She's playing someone who's so far away from who she is. It's marvelous working with her and Jen as well," Lincoln said of the Babadook filmmaker. "Jennifer works forensically with character. She's a brilliant composer of the frame as well. It's her story. She has a very strong vision in sound, in performance, in everything. It was about making sure that that was realized."
Asked his hopes for viewers tuning into his episode of Cabinet of Curiosities, Lincoln said, "I hope audiences will have the same reaction I did when I read it, that it was a beautiful story about loss. And about coming to terms with grief. And hopefully some way of finding a way to navigate grief. But also equally that they get the scariest, the most appalling, nerve-shredding hour that Netflix has created. So far."
The Murmuring Netflix Release Date
Andrew Lincoln's episode of Cabinet of Curiosities is streaming Friday, October 28th on Netflix. "The Murmuring" and "The Viewing" are the final two episodes of the season, following Oct. 25th episodes "Lot 36" and "Graveyard Rats," Oct. 26th episodes "The Autopsy" and "The Outside," and Oct. 27th episodes "Pickman's Model" and "Dreams in the Witch House."
Cabinet of Curiosities Cast
The Cabinet of Curiosities cast includes Andrew Lincoln, Essie Davis, Tim Blake Nelson, David Hewlett, F. Murray Abraham, Kate Micucci, Martin Starr, Dan Stevens, Demetrius Grosse, Ben Barnes, Crispin Glover, Rupert Grint, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Nia Vardalos, Peter Weller, Eric André, Sofia Boutella, Steve Agee, and Hannah Galway.
Cabinet of Curiosities Episodes
Dreams in the Witch House: Rupert Grint (Servant), Ismael Cruz Cordova (The Undoing), DJ Qualls (Turning Point), Nia Vardalos (Love, Victor) and Tenika Davis (Jupiter's Legacy) star in an episode written by Mika Watkins (Origin), based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, and directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen).
Graveyard Rats: David Hewlett (The Shape of Water) stars in an episode written, based on a short story by Henry Kuttner, and directed by Vincenzo Natali (In The Tall Grass).
Lot 36: Tim Blake Nelson (Watchmen), Elpidia Carrillo (Predator), Demetrius Grosse (Fear The Walking Dead) and Sebastian Roché (The Man in the High Castle) star in an episode written by Regina Corrado (Deadwood), based on an original story by del Toro, and directed by Guillermo Navarro (Godfather of Harlem).
Pickman's Model: Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone), Crispin Glover (Rivers Edge), and Oriana Leman (The Whale) star in an episode written by Lee Patterson (Curve), based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, and directed by Keith Thomas (Firestarter).
The Autopsy: F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus), Glynn Turman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) and Luke Roberts (Ransom) will appear in an episode written by David S. Goyer (The Sandman), based on a short story by Michael Shea, and directed by David Prior (The Empty Man).
The Murmuring: Essie Davis (The Babadook), Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead) and Hannah Galway (Sex/Life) star in an episode written (based on an original story by del Toro) and directed by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook).
The Outside: Kate Micucci (The Little Hours) and Martin Starr (Silicon Valley) lead an episode written by Haley Z. Boston (Brand New Cherry Flavor), based on a short story by comic book author Emily Carroll, and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night).
The Viewing: Peter Weller (Robocop), Eric André (The Eric Andre Show), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Charlyne Yi (Always Be My Maybe), Steve Agee (Peacemaker), Michael Therrialt (Locke and Key) and Saad Siddiqui (DC's Legends of Tomorrow) star in an episode directed by Panos Cosmatos (Mandy), who also writes, along with Aaron Stewart-Ahn.