(L-R) Katie Cassidy as Trish Wellington and Gina Holden as Shea Allen
Two weeks ago one of the very last panels at Wondercon in San Francisco was for the upcoming mystery event “Harper’s Island” on CBS. This is a mini-series that will run from April through July. Along with the mini-series CBS will be launching a full online webseries to go with the show.
ABOUT THE SHOW:
HARPER’S ISLAND
HARPER’S ISLAND is a 13-episode murder mystery about a group of family and friends who travel to a secluded island for a destination wedding. They’ve come to laugh… to love… and, though they don’t know it… to die. As the wedding festivities begin, friendships are tested and secrets exposed as a murderer claims victims, one by one, transforming the wedding week of fun and celebration into a terrifying struggle for survival. Abby Mills, whose mother was killed on the island by a homicidal maniac’s rampage seven years ago, journeys home for the first time since the horrific event for the wedding of her best friend, Henry Dunn. Henry, the boy next door, is marrying the woman of his dreams, Trish Wellington, a beautiful and wealthy heiress. But as the wedding week begins, people start dying. Every episode, someone is killed. Wedding guests and island locals, every person is a suspect. No one is safe. No one can be trusted. By the end of the 13 episodes, all questions will be answered, the killer will be revealed and only a few will survive.
New promos for the show- these include voice clips of Jim Beaver ( Supernatural) playing the sheriff in this mini-series along with Katie Cassidy ( Supernatural - coming to Melrose Place), final one is the One by One promo - this will be a mystery/ horror event and each week someone will die while we wait to see the killer revealed.
ON AIR: Thursdays (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) Switch over when Supernatural is done for the night!
PREMIERE: April 9, 2009
CONCLUDES: July 2, 2009
ORIGINATION: Vancouver (film)
PRODUCED BY: CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Junction Entertainment
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jon Turteltaub, Jeffrey Bell
More about the online webseries:
The Mystery Event To Premiere Online With Original Web Content That Is Complementary To The Upcoming Prime Time Television Show
CBS and EQAL, the creators of lonelygirl15, today announced that the upcoming 13- episode mystery event HARPER’S ISLAND will be a multi-platform series the companies have collaborated on to deliver an interactive and social entertainment experience.
(L-R) Matt Barr as Christopher 'Sully' Sullivan , Christopher Gorham as Henry Dunn , Brandon Jay McLaren as Danny Brooks and, Chris Gauthier as Malcolm Ross
Prior to the premiere of the primetime series, CBS and EQAL will launch HARPER’S GLOBE (http://www.harpersglobe.com/) online with original social show episodes that will be complementary to the television storyline with overlapping characters, locations and plots that will continue to evolve throughout the first season of the television show. In addition to being available on HarpersGlobe.com, all content will be available at CBS.com, on CBS Mobile and across the CBS Audience Network.
(L-R) Christopher Gorham as Henry Dunn and Elaine Cassidy as Abby Mills
Representatives from CBS Entertainment, CBS Paramount Network Television, CBS Interactive, as well as writing teams from the show and EQAL, have been working in close collaboration since the series was at the script level last spring to ensure the on air, online and on mobile narratives are cohesive and complementary across all mediums. The online social show will launch on Wednesday, March 18, several weeks prior to the broadcast premiere of HARPER’S ISLAND on Thursday, April 9 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) and will coexist with the weekly television show concluding with the broadcast finale on Thursday, July 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT).
HARPER’S ISLAND is about a group of family and friends who travel to a secluded island for a destination wedding. They’ve come to laugh… to love… and, though they don’t know it… to die. As the wedding festivities begin, friendships are tested and secrets exposed as a murderer claims victims, one by one, transforming the wedding week of fun and celebration into a terrifying struggle for survival. In every episode, someone is killed and every person is a suspect, from the wedding party to the island locals. By the end of the 13 episodes, all questions will be answered, the killer will be revealed and only a few will survive.
(L-R) Katie Cassidy as Trish Wellington, Richard Burgi as Thomas Wellington and Victor Webster as Hunter Jennings
“HARPER’S ISLAND is a really unique show, so I was thrilled when the network and the studio decided to break new ground and exploit all platforms of the show from the start,” said executive producer Jon Turteltaub. “Putting CBS Interactive together with EQAL gives the show an innovative and entertaining online presence a full three weeks before they launch the on-air program. The multi-platform, interactive elements at HarpersGlobe.com expand the whole experience of our show, which I feel is beyond necessary in the world of such rapidly changing media. We have to make our show an Internet event, as well as a broadcast TV event.”
“At CBS we are committed to creating content and experiences that are unique to the Web and mobile platforms and complementary to and expand on our television programming,” said Quincy Smith, CEO, CBS Interactive. “This commitment was the catalyst to our partnering with EQAL. As the creators of lonelygirl15 and KateModern they get that the Web is a new medium. HARPER’S ISLAND represents ideal content to showcase on multiple platforms because of its potential to attract engaged audiences who want to make the show an event every day.”
“It’s not a pre-requisite to go online in order to follow the series on-air, but those who do will have an authentic entertainment experience that drills deeper into the mythology and mystery happening on HARPER’S ISLAND,” said Nancy Tellem, President, CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group. “Since the pilot phase, the writers have been working with our colleagues at EQAL and CBS Interactive to make Harper’s Globe a destination that is a unique yet faithful connection to the television series while sustaining the curiosity and conversation before and between episodes.”
“The best shows on television are those that leave you wanting more at the closing credits each week. With CBS we’re giving fans more. More characters, more plotlines and more ways than ever before to interact with a television show,” said Miles Beckett, CEO of EQAL. “By bringing together the unique elements of both mediums, we’re able to extend and amplify the HARPER’S ISLAND experience to engage fans in a whole new way.”
In addition to collaborating with CBS on the writing, producing, and directing all of the social show content, EQAL will also help provide the technology infrastructure to host the social show which includes built-in interactive and community elements.
Jon Turteltaub (”Jericho”) and Jeffrey Bell (”Alias,” “Angel,” “The X-Files”) are executive producers for CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Junction Entertainment. Karim Zreik (”Jericho”), Dan Shotz (”Jericho”) and Tyler Bensinger (”Cold Case”) are co-executive producers and Ari Schlossberg (”Hide and Seek”) is co-executive producer and creator.
The stars of Harper’s Island and the producers were at Wondercon last weekend
Coverage of the Convention from FearNet:
Elaine Cassidy, Christopher Gorham, Katie Cassidy
Ahoy,Harper’s Island enthusiasts! Last weekend, two stars of the upcoming TV thriller washed up on the sandy shores of Wondercon 2009, and they were nice enough to sit down with us for a chat about their 13-episode series. Hit the jump to read the full interview with Christopher Gorham — who plays Henry, a summer-frequenter to the island who decides to get married there and rejuvenate childhood memories — and Elaine Cassidy , who plays his best friend, Abby Mills, a former resident of the island. And please, when you read Cassidy’s responses, be sure to imagine the most adorable little Irish accent possible. (Yes, her voice is even more precious than a golden-retriever puppy puréed with a baby.) And then ask yourself –who pray tell would want to kill such pure adorability?!This is such an intriguing idea. It’s like the scripted one-hour version of Survivor, but with a horror movie vibe to it… CHRISTOPHER GORHAM: Exactly. That’s a really good way to think about it. It’s hard to describe sometimes especially when people think, “Well, what happens if it succeeds? How do you do a season 2?” If you just explain it’s like Survivor, then suddenly it makes sense.
ELAINE CASSIDY: And also it’s not our headache. We don’t have to worry about it. GORHAM: It won’t be a problem. READ THE REST HERE.
More about the Panel on SCREEN RANT- where they pretty much concur that the fact that show also includes Jim Beaver, Richard Burgi ( seen with Jared Padalecki in Friday the 13th) and Harry Hamlin. Wow! I am excited to know that Harry is working and doing something other than just hanging out with wife Lisa Rinna- has been eons since I saw him in something onscreen.
