Fox Networks Group (FNG), Asia’s leading pay-TV network, has announced that a new horror drama series from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is thrilling audiences all over the world after ir premiered on Saturday on Fox.
Outcast, which is based on the comic book of the same name by Kirkman and co-creator and illustrator Paul Azaceta, is a compelling story about a young man fighting manifestations of demonic possession, and it premiered on FOX on June 4, in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, with a simulcast on Fox Filipino and STARWorld. The series was simulcast in the country day and date, within hours of the US premiere on June 3.
Outcast is set to be Fox’s next global hit series, and is FNG’s first original scripted drama. The series features an award-winning production team and cast, including Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous), who plays the lead character of Kyle Barnes, Philip Glenister as Rev. Anderson, Reg E. Cathey as Chief Giles, show runner Chris Black, director Adam Wingard, and composer Atticus Ross.
The cinematic treatment of a genre previously unexplored on TV makes Outcast required viewing for fans of horror and stories about exorcism.
The premiere episode introduced the lead character of Kyle Barnes, a young man from the small town of Rome in West Virginia who returns home after a long absence. What marks Kyle is his dark past, having witnessed his loved ones go through demonic possession—the reason why he left Rome in the first place.
He returns years later to find the answers behind his family’s suffering, in the hopes that he can help Joshua Austin, an 8-year-old who lives in front of the Barnes house and is believed to be possessed by a demon that seems mysteriously connected to Kyle.
Together with Rev. Anderson, a West Virginia evangelist who believes he is a soldier in God’s holy war against the forces of evil on Earth, Kyle revisits Rome to face his past, discover his fate, and possibly change the world forever.
To drum up excitement for Outcast, a series of huge wall murals was unveiled in locations with high foot traffic in 13 countries around the world including the Philippines from May 28 to June 3 to reveal a scene from Outcast’s first episode. Each city’s mural was painted by a local artist based on illustrations provided by Azuceta to depict one panel from the scene’s storyboard, similar to panels in a comic book. Renowned graphic design team Team Manila was assigned to create the Outcast mural in Manila, coloring in Azuceta’s black-and-white sketches and adding their own flourishes of Filipino culture to the art.
Every few hours, one mural in one city was unveiled online at https://outcastart.tv/ and on social media until all murals could be arranged by fans in the correct sequence to see a sneak preview of Outcast’s premiere episode. This global rollout of Outcast that includes countries in Europe and Latin America as well as Hong Kong and Southeast Asia was kicked off on May 28 at the London Comic Con, where stars of Outcast were present.
FNG also took promotions of Outcast to the digital realm in order to encourage fans to interact with the murals. The interactive and immersive website has become a hub for images and video content created during production of the murals and allows fans to follow them online and through social media. Those who can visit a mural in person could also unlock previously unavailable content on their personal devices using geolocation, and if enough visitors log in to this they will be given access to a longer clip from the first episode of Outcast for an exclusive, more-detailed preview. More information on how fans can interact with the murals can be found on the website.
“Fox is excited to be featuring another show that pushes the envelope for the horror genre on TV, and an original scripted drama by FNG at that. We’re confident that Filipino fans who have loyally been tuning in to Kirkman’s previous work on The Walking Dead will embrace Outcast as another fine example of edgy storytelling, relatable characters, and excellent production,” said Charo Espedido, director and head of Marketing at FNG Philippines. “Our collaboration with Team Manila for Outcast was also another great opportunity to showcase local artistic talent on an international platform.”
Catch Outcast every Saturdays at 8:55 p.m. exclusively on FOX.
