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T10 WHATS UP! June 2 - 8, 2019 an old decrepit one, depending on when he last fed. Once the children are robbed of their souls, what remains of them is sent to a cold, icy, twist- ed Christmas Village dubbed "Christmasland," where they are transformed into ghoulish crea- tures. Christmasland is a dread- ful, awful place where every day is Christmas Day and unhappi- ness is against the law. Using her unique gift and her ability to vis- it locations by standing on a mysterious covered bridge, Vic must track down and defeat Manx in order to rescue his vic- tims before becoming one her- self or losing her mind. If you are not a fan of the genre, you would never know, but horror and Christmas go to- gether like peanut butter and jel- ly. Aside from Halloween, it is easily the most depicted holiday in the genre. From legendary films such as "Black Christmas" (1974) and "Silent Night, Deadly Night" (1984) to modern fare like "Krampus" (2015), Christ- mas has served as the perfect setting for gruesome edge-of- your seat frights. "NOS4A2" looks to join the pantheon of fes- tive classics with its demented take on the Christmas village. If a vampire with an affinity for Christmas who goes town to town driving a classic car with a ridiculous vanity plate sounds silly to you — well, you're right. In the wrong hands, this premise could easily be turned into a painfully unfunny sitcom, but creator Jami O'Brien ("Fear the Walking Dead") knows that be- neath the goofy surface there is an incredibly dark, engaging and thoroughly entertaining story that will captivate the viewer. Throughout the season, Vic and Manx's backstories and ori- gins will be uncovered via multi- ple flashbacks while the series' central theme of loss of inno- cence is thoroughly explored. Beyond that, "NOS4A2" will dive deep into the relationship and connection that the two main characters share. During the course of the se- ries, we will also observe Vic's transformation from a starv- ing artist lacking in social con- fidence to a courageous, tough-as-nails fighter who will do everything in her pow- er to rescue Manx's victims. She must also come to terms with her sudden powers and all the responsibilities that ac- company them. Becoming the "chosen one" overnight is no easy thing. Based on the emphatic reac- tion to the premiere episode at Anaheim's WonderCon (one of the biggest comic book, science fiction and film conventions in North Ameri- ca) this past April, AMC seems to have another winner on its hands. At the same con- vention, showrunner O'Brien discussed the challenges of adapting a wildly popular more-than-700-page novel to the small screen, and how cer- tain pivotal events from the source material had to be tweaked to make it more ac- cessible. In addition, she men- tioned that the series is de- signed to run for three sea- sons, with the first season covering roughly a third of the novel, but all that can change down the line since Hill's sto- ry is chock-full of interesting characters with compelling powers and stories. Hill's adaption joins AMC's foray into the horrorverse after the network's immense success with "The Walking Dead," its spinoff, "Fear the Walking Dead," black comedy "Preacher" and edge-of-your-seat horror se- ries "The Terror." On Sunday, June 2, witness the beginning of an epic battle between good and evil when the premiere of "NO- S4A2" airs on AMC. Zachary Quinto in "NOS4A2" continued from page T2 Soul sucker: Evil comes to town in 'NOS4A2' TV FEATURE