TV series is based on Universal’s film franchise of the same name
Tim Baysinger | November 6, 2018 @ 1:09 PM
Last Updated: November 6, 2018 @ 1:28 PM
USA
“The Purge” will continue on TV for at least one more year, as USA Network has renewed the series based on the Universal film franchise for a second season.
“USA Network is so proud to be the television home for the iconic franchise, ‘The Purge,'” said Chris McCumber, president, entertainment networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “The partnership and creative trust of Jason Blum and everyone at Blumhouse Television and Universal Pictures ensured [the franchise’s] successful transition from film to TV – and, along with Universal Cable Productions, we look forward to digging even deeper into the mythology in Season 2.”
The news of the pickup comes ahead of the show’s first season finale, which airs Tuesday night at 10 p.m.
Based on the movie franchise from Blumhouse Productions, “The Purge” revolves around the same 12-hour period from the films, when all crime, including murder, is legal. Set in an altered America ruled by a totalitarian political party, Season 1 follows several seemingly unrelated characters living in a small city. As the clock winds down, the characters are forced to reckon with their past as they discover how far they will go to survive the night.
Season 1 was executive produced by the film franchise creator James DeMonaco and Thomas Kelly. Additionally, the entire team behind the franchise executive produced: Michael Bay with Brad Fuller and Andrew Form under the Platinum Dunes banner, and Sebastien K. Lemercier. The series is a co-production with Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Television and Universal Cable Productions.
The Most 2018 Movies of 2018 So Far, From 'Infinity War' to 'The First Purge' (Photos)
While Hollywood hasn't quite switched over to full-on nihilism mode like it did in the Bush years -- yet -- we have gotten a few studio pictures this year that more or less capture the vibe of living under President Donald Trump in 2018 -- intentionally or not. Warning: there are spoilers ahead for most of these movies. Also there's political commentary.
"Avengers: Infinity War" -- A crazy, shocking, potentially world-shattering threat emerges, boasting heavy support from religious fundamentalists and spouting cliche Republican talking points about resource allocation and the need for a strongman to make decisions for everyone -- and wins. Trump's America is basically Thanos' entire universe.
"Fifty Shades Freed" -- The "Fifty Shades" finale is basically the story of the extremely rich Christian Grey learning an important life lesson -- that he, as an orphan, potentially would have turned into a murderous psycho had he not been adopted by a rich family -- and then turning around and having kids the normal way with Ana because those orphans aren't my kids.
"The First Purge" -- Given his open support for literal murderous dictators, it seems likelier with every new “Purge” movie that Donald Trump is going to want to institute the Purge IRL, right? It would be a bit on the nose but, well, he is President On The Nose. Plus, a major plot point has the government call in Russian support to interfere with an internal matter.
"Gringo" -- The story of a nice and normal immigrant man with a normal white collar job who really just wants to live a normal life without anyone bothering him -- and so, of course, everyone tries to kill him. This is what living in 2018 America feels like.
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" -- Some people have argued to me that "Fallen Kingdom" is bad because the bad people in these movies seem to get even dumber and do more inexplicable things with every new "Jurassic" installment. And to that I say: Donald Trump is president, so you may be holding movies to a higher standard of credibility than you are the reality of 2018.
"Pacific Rim: Uprising" -- The world is almost destroyed by a guy who is secretly the puppet of foreign monsters. Hmm.
"A Quiet Place" -- We finally figured out a way to defeat the monsters -- purely by accident and only after most of humanity was already wiped out. A vision of our future?
"Red Sparrow" -- A really resourceful woman uses all her considerable subterfuge skills to outsmart hordes of predatory men and remove a single corrupt Russian government official from office. A heroic #resistance effort, and probably the best possible resolution to the situation -- and probably one that won't do much to help anyone in the near term. But maybe someday!
"Sicario: Day of the Soldado" -- Maybe this type of "look at the secret bad things the government is doing!" story doesn't quite translate to Trump's America. But at the same time it's not hard to imagine Trump watching this movie and thinking invading Mexico to fight the cartels is a good idea.
"Tyler Perry's Acrimony" -- This movie has a really clever conceit -- a crazy person narrates her life story, painting herself as the good guy while the movie itself is showing the truth of her badness. It's basically what watching any Trump speech feels like.
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These are the Hollywood movies that most capture the vibe of America in 2018
While Hollywood hasn't quite switched over to full-on nihilism mode like it did in the Bush years -- yet -- we have gotten a few studio pictures this year that more or less capture the vibe of living under President Donald Trump in 2018 -- intentionally or not. Warning: there are spoilers ahead for most of these movies. Also there's political commentary.
