“I’m going to show you guys something… this was yesterday,” Teacup showrunner Ian McCulloch teases. Then, hovered around a conference room table inside Atlanta’s Assembly Studios, a group of journalists stare closely at the image Ian McCulloch is referring to, and one by one, the yelps come out. It’s not what any of us were expecting, but then again, this new Peacock horror series is probably not what you’re expecting, either.
Based loosely on Robert R. McCammon’s book Stinger, this atmospheric adaptation finds the residents of an isolated Georgia farming community being targeted by an unseen threat that nobody can actually see. But readers beware! When James Wan, the mastermind behind Saw and The Conjuring universe, contacted former Yellowstone writer McCulloch (who shares the coolest name ever with the lead singer of Echo & the Bunnymen) about adapting the book for his Atomic Monster production company, “I said, ‘Oh, that sounds cool.’ And I read the book and I said, ‘Hey, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to write you a script and it’s going to be 99.8% different than the book.’” And if you know the 600-plus page novel’s sweeping scope, you will see that he delivered on his promise. McCulloch has instead created a lean, deeply unsettling story centered on James and Maggie Chenoweth (Scott Speedman and Yvonne Strahovski, respectively) as they see their own domestic issues overshadowed by a series of strange events surrounding their rural Georgia property.
“James is in the middle of a crisis,” explains Speedman. “He’s a family man who has strayed somewhat from his family when we meet him. He’s a good man, a good dad, that is strayed from his family. So we meet him at probably the worst time in his life and it’s pretty inopportune time for the other genre elements to take place,” he adds with a laugh. “But that’s how it goes.”
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For Strahovski, the drama between James and Maggie, as well as some unexpected events involving their son Arlo (Caleb Dolden) and daughter Meryl (Émilie Bierre), “creates a really great, very tense backdrop already for what’s to come as we go through each episode and find out that there is something else going on.” As the local veterinarian, her character is one of the first to figure out that something is very wrong in their community, leading to a group effort among the neighbors. “They’re trying to get to the bottom of this mysterious force because it’s a mystery to them. And that will be part of the draw, I think for people watching it, this will be a sometimes slow-burn but sometimes fast-paced, thrilling journey that we’ll go on.”
Shot in and around Atlanta, Teacup makes smart use of the expansive, woodsy locations outside of the city while also feeling oddly claustrophobic. The sylvan surroundings at night seem to close in, and there are several sequences that’ll have viewers rethinking the appeal of being outdoors. At the same time, there’s an aching intimacy to the Chenoweths’ private strain, which is refreshingly not forgotten about when, as Strahovski puts it, “things start going horribly wrong.” Even their house and barn, which were masterful recreations of actual structures that took up massive spaces in Assembly’s soundstages, have a crowed, lived-in tightness to them.
Credit McCulloch for that. “He just had a vision for this show that was really smart and really grounded,” continues the Handmaid’s Tale star. “If this was just a genre piece, I probably wouldn’t be here. But because it has this component that is really grounded in this emotional family storyline as well— which I really fell in love with—and the way that Ian spoke about it, that’s what kind of got my attention and here we are.”
“He wants to tell these small stories and that’s what I’m looking for,” echoes her on-screen hubby, quickly noting that his recurring role as Dr. Nick Marsh on Grey’s Anatomy “has been amazing to me and I’ve loved doing it… [but] it’s something I can slip in and out of.”
“I’m just looking for unique voices on the page and trust me, they’re hard to find and then they’re hard to get as an actor,” Speedman goes on. “So I was all-in as soon as I read it and then fought hard to get it, to be honest with you.”
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What the actual threat is and how it impacts (at attacks?) the Chenoweths and their neighbors is top-secret — so much so, that the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Coin in July was an hour of the actors gamely avoiding saying anything that could get them in trouble or ruin the myriad twists. So to spoil anything here would be as heinous as what McCulloch showed the journalists gathered on set back in May. (Fun fact: There were even more gruesome props and effects shared with us that day, and let’s just say several therapists got calls that night.) We can, however, assure you that things go from simmering weird to straight-up scream-worthy when a stranger in a vintage gas mask arrives late one night amid all of the early chaos to spray-paint a blue line around their property. As seen in the show’s official trailer, said mystery man also holds up a sign to James and neighbor Ruben Shanley (The English‘s Chaske Spencer) that says “Don’t Trust Anyone” before exiting. If that’s not enough to get under your skin, there are also dark woods, disturbing animal situations, and plenty of worst-case scenario arguments over what is happening.
“The scene we’re going to film tomorrow is going to be a pretty big one because we’re all arguing, we’re all pointing fingers,” Spencer while relaxing in another one of Assembly’s conference room, this one filled with various props and set decorations, including the titular piece of China. “We’re all trying to be heard and I think that’s where you’re going to see an emergence of a leader.” Not that his character wants the gig.
Photo: Damian Holbrook
“I think Ruben’s in denial [about the crisis],” offers the Twilight Saga star, whose stoic character works almost as the flip side of Speedman’s remorseful James. “He’s got a lot of other things going on… so I think the other stuff is just surface until he gets more evidence of what’s going on. That’s how I’ve been kind of playing it: I think he needs more evidence of what’s going on.”
Eventually, the proof he’s looking for rears its very ugly head, and the dread-soaked tone established in the first two episodes dropping on Thursday (October 10) begins to creep deeper and deeper into the drama. So don’t expect a parade of jump scares. “You have to earn a scare,” explains McCulloch. “I don’t like jump scares… They usually feel cheap.”
Guess they’re not his cup of tea!
Teacup, Series Premiere, Thursday, October 10, Peacock