The Following TV Show Review - Who's The Real Killer in The Following TV Series?

I have been waiting ages for The Following TV show to be picked up by Fox. It began as an untitled Kevin Williamson project and was instantly snapped up for a pilot by Fox. Almost anything with the name of Kevin Williamson attached to it is a hit in the making. Most audiences will know him as the man behind the likes of incredibly successful TV shows Dawson's Creek and The Vampire Diaries. However, he is also the man responsible for the series of Scream movies and The Following is more along the lines of Scream than teen drama.

The Following TV series has me excited for so many reasons. Not only does it have a great cast it also has a compelling plot and I can see this TV show can easily become highly addictive viewing. The only problem I can potentially see is in the name....

Whenever I talk about this show people don't realize I am talking about a TV show, especially when you say something like... The Following TV show. They think you are then going to mention the name of the TV show at the end of the sentence. I guess I will have to wait for this show to become popular for this to be cleared up.

It has been announced that The Following series will air in January 2013.

The Following TV Show is very similar to the Scream movies in a number of ways.

It's about a serial murderer that killed girls on a college campus. Joe Carroll used to pick his victims very carefully and was only caught after failing to kill one of his victims. Approximately eight years later, Carroll has managed to escape from the prison facility, where he was incarcerated.

The original FBI Agent who caught him, Ryan Hardy, all those years ago is now retired. He is brought back into the fold to help recapture the escaped murderer. Ryan Hardy is the only one that knows the escapee well enough to have a shot of recapturing him. Afterall, he even wrote a book about his capture and his crimes.

Although he has been asked back to lead the investigation, Hardy has a number of hurdles to overcome. He is not loved within the FBI. He made a number of personal mistakes in his career, including writing the book about the capture of Joe Carroll. However, it soon becomes evident that the FBI need Hardy when they realize Joe Carroll had a copy of the book Hardy wrote and left him a personal message inside the book.

The team looking for Carroll are short on clues as to where he could be. They begin interviewing all the women that have visited him in prison over his 8 year sentence. They then find out that Carroll was on the internet a lot in prison and that there was always one particular guard with him at those times. When they raid that guards house, they come to realize that Carroll managed to convert that guard and they are now working together. It also helps explain how Carroll managed to escape.

Carroll has a new mission where he is training others to become serial killers. Some of these people he has met through the internet. This is making Hardy's life much harder as now he has to look for at least 2 suspects. The rules of the game have changed.

Hardy then visits Carroll's ex-wife and they have a private conversation. They slept together in the past and Hardy never called her back. Claire believes that her ex-husband is coming back to finish what he started. This leads Hardy to assume that Carroll is coming back to kill his last victim, Sarah Fuller.

Sarah Fuller is whisked away into a safe house, with round the house protection. When Hardy comes to check on her, he realizes she is missing and that Carroll, or his side-kicks, have taken her. Hardy promised Sarah she would be safe.

Carroll calls Hardy and arranges for them to meet. Hardy knows it's the only chance he'll get to save Sarah and agrees to meet. Carroll is re-apprehended and is back in jail. Carroll also knows that Hardy slept with his wife.

Although Carroll is back in jail, he now has a cult following doing his bidding; hence the name of the TV show. They have already killed 3 girls in 3 different cities since he has been back in prison and will continue to do so.

Carroll thinks this will all make for great material for the next book Hardy decides to write. Hardy hopes the book ends with the death of Carroll. However, he will need Carroll to find these new killers.

The Following TV Show Cast and Characters

Kevin Bacon plays Ryan Hardy the retired FBI Agent that originally captured serial murderer Joe Carroll.

Joe Carroll is played by James Purefoy, who's new mission is to give Hardy more material for a sequel to his original book.

Maggie Grace plays the surviving victim of Joe Carroll, Sarah Fuller.

Natalie Zea plays the ex-wive of Joe Carroll, Claire Matthews. They have a son together and she seems to understand her ex-husband well.

Shawn Ashmore play FBI Agent Weston.

Jeananne Goossen plays Jennifer Mason and works closely with Hardy.

You can find out more by reading The Following Cast and Characters hub.

Why The Following TV Series Will Be a Big Hit

The Following TV series is set to be a big hit for a number of reasons.

1. It's starring Kevin Bacon. Who doesn't love Kevin Bacon? This is also the first time anyone has managed to talk Kevin Bacon into doing a TV series. Normally he sticks to movies, but liked the premise of The Following series so much he agreed to be in it.

2. It's also starring James Purefoy. His acting is great and I have loved him every since I saw him in the role of Marc Anthony in the TV series Rome. He plays the dark and light off each other very well and knows how to get under your skin. He's an extremely believable villain, without just being mean and evil. He has many layers and is able to constantly surprise the viewer.

3. If you love Silence of the Lambs then this will be right up your alley. It's very similar in a sense to that movie. The murderer is behind bars while a copy cat is out committing similar crimes. It's very close to the storyline in The Following TV Show.