Holliston (TV series)

Last updated
Holliston
Holliston intertitle.png
Genre Comedy
Horror
Romance
Created by Adam Green
Starring Adam Green
Joe Lynch
Laura Ortiz
Corri English
Dave Brockie
Dee Snider
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producers Adam Green
Joe Lynch
Cory Neal
Andrew Mysko
Peter Block
Producers Will Barratt
Sarah Elbert
Sean Becker
Production locations Holliston, Massachusetts, United States
Hollywood, California, United States
Running time35-40 minutes (Season 1)
50 minutes (Christmas Special)
22 minutes (Season 2)
Production companiesArieScope Pictures
A Bigger Boat
Original release
Network FEARnet
ReleaseApril 3, 2012 (2012-04-03) 
August 6, 2013 (2013-08-06)

Holliston is an American horror sitcom created by Adam Green, which debuted on April 3, 2012 on the FEARnet cable television network as their only original series. [1] Aside from the FEARnet cable television network, the show is also offered to watch on outlets such as Hulu, iTunes, and FEARnet On-Demand.

Contents

Premise

Set in the small New England town of Holliston, Massachusetts, the series stars creator/writer/director/executive producer/showrunner Adam Green as "Adam" and executive producer Joe Lynch as "Joe", who are college grads that are chasing their dream to become horror filmmakers, whilst not quite making ends meet working at a local cable access station. [2] The main ensemble is rounded out by Laura Ortiz (who plays "Laura", Joe's bubbly yet artistically morbid girlfriend) and Corri English (who plays "Corri", Adam's ex-girlfriend and childhood sweetheart that he is constantly trying to win back). The show regularly features Twisted Sister's Dee Snider as Adam and Joe's cross-dressing, glam rock loving boss "Lance Rockett" and Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie) of Gwar as "Oderus", Adam's imaginary alien friend who lives in his closet.

Cast and characters

Critical reception

Dread Central said "Season Two of “Holliston” is a quantum leap forward for a show that was already very, very good." [3] Tyler Doupe of Comingsoon.net said "Holliston has a ton of heart. It will appeal to horror fans because it is made by horror fans for horror fans." [4] The Austin Chronicle described the show as "The result is half Sabrina, The Teenage Witch , half Monty Python ...Think of it as the show you hoped The Big Bang Theory would be." [5]

On the other hand, Nick Venable of Cinema Blend panned the show calling it a "shitty sitcom" and "On paper, you could say it’s The League meets Spaced . But then you realize you’re holding toilet paper, and these are the smeared crayon ramblings of a child. " [6] Ken Hanley of Fangoria gave it two out of four skulls saying "while the show brazenly attempts to relate to the horror crowd while incorporating atypical elements of a sitcom, the success rate is a mixed bag, as every fun moment of earned goofiness is quickly offset by a cheap, uninspired gag." [7]

Production

The series is produced by Green's own production company 'ArieScope Pictures', in association with 'A Bigger Boat'. In Season 2, Supervising Producer Sean Becker was promoted to serve as director on many of the episodes in an effort to make Green's duties on the series more manageable.[ citation needed ] Composer Bear McCreary, who also writes the music for TV shows like The Walking Dead and Battlestar Galactica , provides the original score for Holliston. Shot in a multicamera format, the show uses a laugh track though Green has expressed interest to shoot in front of a live audience.

On April 17, 2012, not long after the show's premiere, FEARnet announced that it had not only picked up Holliston for a second season scheduled for summer 2013, but also increased the episode order from 6 episodes to 10. [8] In addition to the 10 episodes making up Season 2, a 1-Hour "Christmas Special" aired on December 18, 2012 serving as a bridge between Season's 1 and 2. Season 1 was released in the USA on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on October 9, 2012.

The show has had guest stars such as comedian Seth Green, Tony Todd, Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder, Bailee Madison, director John Landis, Ray Wise, comedian Brian Posehn, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, James Gunn and Derek Mears. [9]

The series began an extended hiatus at the end of 2013 as Adam Green and Joe Lynch went to work directing their next films (Digging Up The Marrow and Everly), Corri English gave birth to a baby boy, and the rest of the cast became busy with other film/TV projects and tours. Following the death of Dave Brockie and the closure of Fearnet, when and if the series would continue was unknown at the time.

July 20, 2015, Entertainment Weekly reported that, per announcement by Adam Green and Joe Lynch on their The Movie Crypt podcast, Holliston would return for a third season in 2016 on GeekNation. [10] However, the third season was never aired.

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired DVD and Blu-ray release dates
Season premiere Season finale Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
1 6April 3, 2012May 8, 2012October 9, 2012 [11]
2 11December 18, 2012August 6, 2013April 8, 2014 [12]

Episodes

Season 1 (2012)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"The Hooker" Adam Green Adam GreenApril 3, 2012 (2012-04-03)
22"Camera Rental"Adam GreenAdam GreenApril 10, 2012 (2012-04-10)
33"Skunked"Adam GreenAdam GreenApril 17, 2012 (2012-04-17)
44"Candyman"Adam GreenAdam GreenApril 24, 2012 (2012-04-24)
55"Laura's Little Twitter"Adam GreenAdam GreenMay 1, 2012 (2012-05-01)
66"Weekend of Horrors"Adam GreenAdam GreenMay 8, 2012 (2012-05-08)

Season 2 (2012–2013)

No. in
series
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
71"The Christmas Special" Adam Green Adam GreenDecember 18, 2012 (2012-12-18)
82"Suicidal Tendencies"Sean BeckerAdam GreenJune 4, 2013 (2013-06-04)
93"Halloween Girl"Sean BeckerAdam GreenJune 11, 2013 (2013-06-11)
104"Hobgoblin"Adam GreenAdam GreenJune 18, 2013 (2013-06-18)
115"Honesty"Sean BeckerAdam GreenJune 25, 2013 (2013-06-25)
126"Rock The Cradle"Sean BeckerAdam GreenJuly 2, 2013 (2013-07-02)
137"Joe's Soda"Sean BeckerAdam GreenJuly 9, 2013 (2013-07-09)
148"Blobby"Adam GreenAdam GreenJuly 16, 2013 (2013-07-16)
159"Cursed"Sean BeckerAdam GreenJuly 23, 2013 (2013-07-23)
1610"Kevin's Wedding"Sean BeckerAdam GreenJuly 30, 2013 (2013-07-30)
1711"Farm Festival"Sean BeckerAdam GreenAugust 6, 2013 (2013-08-06)

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References

  1. "Adam Green Previews 'Holliston,' FEARnet's First Original Series (Exclusive Video)". Hollywood Reporter. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  2. "Holliston TV Series Review". Horror.com. 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  3. Hallam, Scott (April 8, 2014). "Holliston – Season 2 (Blu-ray)". Dread Central . Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  4. Doupe, Tyler (October 10, 2012). "Holliston: Season One Review". Comingsoon.net . Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  5. Whittaker, Richard (April 3, 2012). "Adam and Joe go to 'Holliston'". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  6. Venable, Nick (12 October 2012). "Holliston: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray Review]". Cinema Blend. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  7. Hanley, Ken W. (April 9, 2014). ""HOLLISTON: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON" (Blu-ray Review)". Fangoria . Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  8. "FEARnet Renews "Holliston" For Second Season". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  9. Hibberd, James. "John Landis to guest-star on 'Holliston' | Inside TV | EW.com". Insidetv.ew.com. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  10. "GeekNation to premiere new season of sitcom 'Holliston' next year — exclusive | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly .
  11. Lambert, David (July 3, 2012). "Holliston - Contents, Extras and Early Cover Art for 'The Complete 1st Season' on DVD, Blu-ray". TVShowsOnDVD.com . Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  12. Lambert, David (July 3, 2012). "Holliston - Contents, Extras and Early Cover Art for 'The Complete 1st Season' on DVD, Blu-ray". TVShowsOnDVD.com . Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.