The first season (series) of the BBC production The Fades finished up in the UK after six episodes, and recently began airing in the US on BBC America.
Critics, including this one, are quite frankly in love with the show (I called it “some of the best television to come out of the UK last year” in my recent season review), as it was one of the most watched programs on the BBC.
The fan following is extraordinary in online communities, with many waiting impatiently to discover if there will be a second season.
If it was an American network in charge, there would be no doubt, but the BBC does not make all of its decisions based on ratings, which can be both good and bad. On the one hand, they don’t have to cancel a good show just because it doesn’t make as much money as another, but on the other, they can cancel a good or popular series, just because they don’t like it or due to political pressure.
However, it would definitely be quite surprising if The Fades didn’t get renewed with as much praise as it has received. The show’s executive producer, Caroline Skinner, doesn’t seem to have much doubt. In an interview recently with io9, mostly about her new job Exec producing Doctor Who, Skinner revealed that the production and writing team already has the next two seasons of the show planned out.
“There’s been a hugely positive response to it in the press and among the fans over here,” she said. “And also the BBC were incredibly pleased with the way that it went down. We’re just waiting on decisions at the moment… [The Fades is] a big trilogy of stories … All you can do is get bigger.”
She went on to discuss the unique nature of the monsters in the angsty thriller, pointing out that they are sort of like ghosts and sort of like zombies, but really not like either, and their core morality and monstrousness is constantly in flux, as is the morality of the entire tale. Interestingly, the show started out as a children’s program, and after the first version of the pilot was finished, the producers decided to ‘grow up’ the show considerably, and introduce more adult situations, including a teen sexual relationship, though the core of the story is still centered on a male friendship between two rather immature guys.
Here’s the BBC America Trailer
The Fades is currently showing on Saturday evenings on BBC America.
