The Twilight Zone (2019 TV series)

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology web television series developed by Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, and Marco Ramirez, based on the original 1959 television series created by Rod Serling. The series premiered on April 1, 2019, on CBS All Access. Peele serves as the narrator of this incarnation, in addition to executive producing through Monkeypaw Productions.

On April 29, 2019, the show was renewed for a second season.

Development
On December 19, 2012, it was announced that Bryan Singer had finalized a deal to develop, executive produce, and potentially direct a third revival of The Twilight Zone for CBS Television Studios. Additionally, at the time of the announcement, the production had yet to hire a writer, begun being shopped to networks and was still finalizing a deal with the Serling estate. On March 7, 2013, it was reported that a writer was in negotiations to join the series. By 2016, Simon Kinberg and Craig Sweeny had joined the production and CBS was weighing whether to shop the project to other networks or streaming services or to place it on their own CBS All Access. Kinberg eventually left the project to write and direct the film Dark Phoenix and Singer and Sweeny soon dropped out as well.

On November 2, 2017, it was announced that CBS was redeveloping the revival for their streaming service CBS All Access. Additionally, it was reported that Jordan Peele was in talks to executive produce the series through his production company Monkeypaw Productions and that Marco Ramirez was in talks to serve as showrunner. On December 6, 2017, it was announced that CBS had given the production a series order. Peele and Ramirez were confirmed to executive produce alongside Simon Kinberg, Win Rosenfeld, Audrey Chon, Carol Serling, and Rick Berg. Peele, Ramirez, and Kinberg were also set to collaborate on the series' premiere episode. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of CBS Television Studios, Monkeypaw Productions, and Genre Films.

On August 6, 2018, it was confirmed that the first season would consist of ten episodes. Additionally, it was reported that the production had established a writers' room and completed concepts, outlines, and scripts for the first season in various stages of development. The series was not planned to have a formal showrunner but director Greg Yaitanes was set to be in charge of overseeing continuity among episodes. On September 20, 2018, it was announced that, in addition to executive producing, Peele would serve as the series' narrator and host. On October 2, 2018, it was announced via a promotional video for the series that Gerard McMurray was directing an episode with Mathias Herndl serving as his director of photography. On November 15, 2018, it was reported that Alex Rubens would write an episode of the series.

On April 29, 2019, the show was renewed for a second season.

Casting
In October 2018, it was announced that Sanaa Lathan and Adam Scott had been cast in guest starring roles; Lathan would appear in an episode titled "Rewind" and Scott in an episode titled "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet", a remake of the original series episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". On November 15, 2018, it was reported that Kumail Nanjiani had been cast in a guest starring role. In December 2018, it was announced that John Cho, Allison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay, Erica Tremblay, Steven Yeun, and Greg Kinnear would appear in guest starring roles. Cho, Tolman, and the Tremblays would appear in an episode titled "The Wunderkind" and Yeun and Kinnear in an episode titled "The Traveler". In January 2019, it was reported that DeWanda Wise, Jessica Williams, Lucinda Dryzek, Jefferson White, Jonathan Whitesell, Taissa Farmiga, Rhea Seehorn, Luke Kirby, Ike Barinholtz, and Percy Hynes White had been cast in guest starring roles. Wise, Williams, Dryzek, White, and Whitesell would appear in one episode while Farmiga, Seehorn, Kirby, Barinholtz, and Hynes-White would be featured in another. On February 7, 2019, it was announced that Ginnifer Goodwin, James Frain, and Zabryna Guevara had been cast to guest star in an episode titled "Point of Origin". The full trailer revealed that Tracy Morgan, Glenn Fleshler and Chris Diamantopoulos would make guest appearances with Morgan appearing alongside Nanjiani, Fleshler in "Rewind" alongside Lathan, and Diamantopoulos joining Scott in "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet". It was revealed through the official Twitter page that Seth Rogen would appear in an episode. In March 8, 2019, it was announced Zazie Beetz and Betty Gabriel would appear in an episode, while Chris O'Dowd and Amy Landecker would appear in an episode titled "The Blue Scorpion". In March 28, 2019, it was announced that Damson Idris would appear in an episode titled "Replay", which was previously titled "Rewind".

Filming
Principal photography for the series began on October 1, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and concluded on March 20, 2019.

Release
On January 30, 2019, it was announced during the Television Critics Association's annual winter press tour that the series would premiere on April 1, 2019.

Marketing
On February 3, 2019, a teaser trailer for the series aired during the telecast of Super Bowl LIII. The commercial played as though it was interrupting CBS' feed of the game and it featured host Jordan Peele standing in an empty Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Another trailer was released on February 21.

Reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 75% based on 73 reviews, with an average rating of 7.53/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Twilight Zone explores the strangeness of the modern world through Rod Serling's winning formula, creating a thought-provoking -- if not always spine-tingling -- showcase for Jordan Peele and his exceptional crop of collaborators." Metacritic assigned the first season a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews."

BBC gave it a positive review and said that: "It's possible that ... Rod Serling and Jordan Peele switched places. As co-creator and on-screen host of the new version, he [Peele] updates the series while capturing the original's essence." The Week was more mixed in its review, calling the first episodes "unforgivably long", but also saying that the series stays "true to the ethos of The Twilight Zone" and that "the episodes are free-standing and timeless". The Verge also gave it a mixed review, praising Jordan Peele as the narrator, but saying the series should try to step away from the original. The Atlantic was more critical, comparing it unfavorably to the original series, stating, "[w]ith the exception of one superior episode, 'Replay', it's hard to conceive that an artist as prodigiously talented and thoughtful as Peele is creatively involved at all."