Post Summary
“From” is a stunning original horror series from John Griffin, now on its fourth season at MGM+ (and the most-watched series in MGM+ history). MGM+ has been a streaming home to a growing number of high-profile original horror series, including the Stephen King series “Chapelwaite” (loosely based on “Jerusalem’s Lot”) and “The Institute”. It’s also home to a variety of other genres, including the upcoming superhero Noir-hybrid “Spider-Noir,” or the long-running crime drama “Godfather of Harlem”.
“From” airs Sundays at 9:00 pm ET/PT on MGM+, which you can find via Prime Video.
Talking About The Horrors of “From” with Star Harold Perrineau
In “From,” Boyd Stevens, played with determination and complexity by “Lost” alum and “Romeo & Juliet” pistol icon Harold Perrineau, is one of the best protagonists in genre TV. As the sheriff and de facto town leader in From’s supernaturally besieged township, Boyd’s determination to keep the town safe and internally stable has driven the character to do anything to fight against the town’s terrible and mysterious antagonists. Season 3 sees Boyd undergo his toughest challenges yet, between the reemergence of Parkinson’s symptoms, the abduction of Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori), and the rebirth of a smiling menace.
Season 4 follows up on the nefarious plans of the powerful Man in Yellow (Douglas E. Hughes), who we discover in the Season 4 premiere is capable of shapeshifting, emerging as Sophia (Julia Doyle). Between that insidious transformation and other terrors, who knows what Boyd and the town’s residents will have to face? That Hashtag Show’s Jeff Ewing sat down with Harold Perrineau to talk about Boyd’s journey into and through Season 4, what he truly fears, and more.
Boyd’s Trapped In a Town That Gets Off on Torture
While Boyd has long been the town’s most stalwart defender, recent seasons have seen Tabitha (Catalina Moreno), Jim (Eion Bailey), Jade (David Alpay), Donna (Elizabeth Saunders), and Kenny (Ricky He) each settle into key roles in the community’s defense against whatever dark forces oppose the town’s residents… but those forces still seem to take particular pleasure in tormenting Boyd. Is he their chief nemesis? “You know what? Last year I would have said, ‘Yeah, it’s about Boyd. They’re just after him,’ he says, “But this [town], you know, it’s just mean all around.”
“Like the kids, what’s happening with Victor, his dad, this is overall just really bad behavior. Let’s just call it like it is! And it’s the town, it’s despicable behavior. I talk about it a lot, but the truth is, it makes me mad. It’s so frickin mean. You’re just like… You want to slap the town in the face, like, ‘Hey! Hey, cut it out.’ But it won’t. And so I don’t know if Boyd is its main, I think it just really gets off on as much torture and torment as it can put out. And that’s what it seems like this year. It’s dark, and it’s just mean, to me.”
Why Boyd Can’t Be Broken… and What Would Finally End Him
Going into Season 4, with new threats on the horizon, the town will be facing enough fresh turmoil and wildly new threats already. With these aforementioned challenges still lingering after a tense Season 3, will Boyd’s leadership be up to the new challenges? “I’ve been saying this the whole day, Boyd is starting Season 4 with a body that’s broken and a mind that is splintered. In any measure, if you had to contemplate this idea of the thing that you killed being back, and it being just as dangerous… his mind is splintered, right? And then you have to take all that, and you still have to go forward. Right? “
Perrineau emphasizes that watching that struggle is a key stressor throughout Season 4. He notes: “People like to say ‘All that is hurting, but I’m going forward,’ but watching Boyd have to actually pick up the pieces, put ‘em back on, dropping another piece, that’s the dramatic part of it. That’s the juicy part. But it’s torturous to watch. It’s torturous to go through, and that’s where we start. That’s where Boyd starts off, and that’s what he’s doing through the whole season. As many times as he’s getting his butt kicked, he has to take the pain. He has to take the suffering, but he has to keep going. His kid is still there, people he loves are still there, and he can’t stop. And that’s really kind of fun to watch.”
In a town whose threats connect to your deepest fears, what’s the one fear whose manifestation would break him? “His biggest fear would be not saving his son,” Perrineau says of Boyd’s final straw, ” That would be if he saw the death of his son, I think he’d crumble… I think that would be the end. That’s what I think, that’s his biggest fear.”
About “FROM”
“From” follows a small town full of stranded strangers, each ending up in an off-the-map town that’s disconnected from our world. While it looks like an ordinary small town, each night finds the town plagued by powerful, murderous humanoid monsters, kept at bay by mysterious talismans. Town sheriff and de facto leader is Boyd Stevens (played by Harold Perrineau), who works with others to hopefully keep the town safe, and hopefully someday help them get home.
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