With Halloween a day away, the release of a new limited series Dracula on NBC came just in time. The show, written by Cole Hoddon, is a take on the 1897 Bram Stoker novel Dracula. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers stars as Dracula/Alexander Grayson. Rhys-Meyers loves to dig his teeth into period pieces and was perfect for Dracula because of his imaginative portrayal of Henry VII in The Tudors. While his American accent can be trying at times, he still pulls off Dracula with his fierce acting performance. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers may be the title character but the show doesn’t stop with only him: Oliver Jackson-Cohen stars as a young reporter named Jonathan Hawker, and Jessica De Gouw stars as his fiancée, Mina, who we realized might have a past with Mr. Grayson.
The pilot gives hints to the revenge story this modern day rendition of the 19th century story has to come. The one thing Dracula will continue to have going for it if the plot goes downhill are the lavish and breathtaking sets they have designed for the world of the show. The costumes and atmosphere take you into a world all of us want to be apart of and that’s all we can ask for from a fictional story like Dracula. As the pilot had its ups and downs, we can only hope this show is nearly as sexy and lustful as The Tudors was in its time. Period pieces are hard to stay relevant in television today, so they have to make it tastier than ever if they want this show to succeed.
Don’t forget to tune in on NBC at 10 PM Fridays.