''NOS4A2'' (pronounced ''Nosferatu'') is an American

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

horror

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Joe Hill, that ran on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

from June 2, 2019 to August 23, 2020. The series was created by Jami O'Brien and stars

Ashleigh Cummings Ashleigh Cummings (born 11 November 1992) is an Australian actress. She became known for her role as Robyn Mathers in '' Tomorrow, When the War Began''. The film, based on the book of the same name, earned Cummings a nomination for Best Young ...

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek ...

, Jahkara Smith,

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (born 3 March 1973) is an Icelandic and American actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for his roles in films such as ''Children'', '' The Deep'', '' The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'', and '' Eurovision Song Contest: ...

, Virginia Kull, and

Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ebon Moss-Bachrach () (born March 19, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for his role as restaurant manager Richie Jerimovich in the comedy-drama series '' The Bear'' (2022–present), for which he was twice awarded the Primetime Emmy Award ...

. The series deals with a working-class artist who uses supernatural abilities to track an immortal being who preys on children. In August 2020, the series was canceled after two seasons after completing the storyline presented in the original novel.

Premise

''NOS4A2'' follows Victoria "Vic" McQueen, a young working-class artist who discovers that she has a supernatural ability to track the seemingly immortal Charlie Manx. Manx feeds on the souls of children, then deposits what remains of them into Christmasland—a twisted Christmas Village of Manx's imagination where every day is Christmas Day and unhappiness is against the law. Vic must strive to defeat Manx and rescue his victims—without losing her mind or falling victim to him herself.

Cast and characters

Main

as Victoria "Vic" McQueen *

as Bing Partridge * Jahkara J. Smith as Margaret "Maggie" Leigh *

as Christopher "Chris" McQueen * Virginia Kull as Linda McQueen *

as Charlie Manx * Ashley Romans as Tabitha Hutter (recurring season 1; main season 2) *

Jonathan Langdon Jonathan Langdon (born December 17, 1987) is a Canadian actor from Pickering, Ontario, best known for his supporting role as Hudson in the television series '' Run the Burbs''. Career His credits include the film '' Trap'', television series '' ...

as Lou Carmody (guest star season 1; main season 2) * Mattea Conforti as Millie Manx (recurring season 1; main season 2)

Recurring

* Dalton Harrod as Craig * Asher Miles Fallica as Daniel Moore * Chris McKinney as Sheriff Bly * Rarmian Newton as Drew Butler * Karen Pittman as Angela Brewster * Paulina Singer as Willa Brewster * Darby Camp as Haley Smith (season 1) * Rebecca Gibel as Tina Harrison (season 1) * Judith Roberts as Jolene * Jason David as Bruce Wayne McQueen (season 2) * Paul Schneider as Jonathan Beckett, the "Hourglass Man" (season 2)

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

The complete season became available on June 2, 2019, via AMC's on-demand service, AMC Premiere.

Season 2 (2020)

Production

Development

On December 8, 2015, it was announced that

had put a television series adaptation of Joe Hill's novel ''NOS4A2'' into development. It was reported that a search was underway for a writer to pen the adaptation. Production companies involved in the series were set to include

The Tornante Company The Tornante Company, LLC is an American privately held investment firm founded in 2005 and owned by former Paramount Pictures and The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner. Tornante invests in, acquires, and operates media and entertainment c ...

and AMC Studios. On May 31, 2017, it was announced that AMC had opened a writers room for the series. Jami O'Brien led the writers room and executive produced alongside Hill. On April 10, 2018, it was announced that AMC had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Additionally, it was reported that O'Brien would serve as showrunner and that Lauren Corrao would be an executive producer. Though the series is set in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

, it was filmed in various locations in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, including the Cranston Street Armory. On March 30, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on June 2, 2019. On July 20, 2019, while at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

it was announced that AMC had renewed the series for a second season. The second season finished filming in January 2020 and premiered on June 21, 2020. Ratings saw a massive drop during season two, running at about half what they were during season one. On August 31, 2020, AMC canceled the series after two seasons and adapting the entire storyline of the original novel.

Casting

On June 27, 2018, it was announced that

, Virginia Kull, and

had been cast in main roles. On July 5, 2018, it was reported that Jahkara Smith had joined the cast in a recurring capacity. On August 28, 2018, it was announced that Karen Pittman had been cast in a recurring role. On September 13, 2018, it was reported that

and

had been cast in the series' two lead roles of Charlie Manx and Vic McQueen, respectively. On October 12, 2018, it was announced that Rarmian Newton and Darby Camp had joined the cast in a recurring capacity. On December 17, 2018, it was reported that Ashley Romans would appear in a recurring role.

Release

Marketing

On December 20, 2018, a promotional image from the series was released featuring

in character as Charlie Manx.

Premiere

The series held its world premiere during the 2019 South by Southwest film festival in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, in March 2019, as a part of the festival's "Episodic Premieres" series of screenings. The first episode premiered on AMC on June 2, 2019. While AMC broadcast the episodes over a nine-week period, it made the entire series available for online streaming immediately on its AMC Premiere platform.

Reception

Critical response

For the first season,

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website

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reported a 69% approval rating with an average score of 6.6/10, based on 29 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though ''Nos4a2'' strains to build the necessary atmosphere to pull off its ambitious premise, it does capture the spirit of Joe Hill's singular work and provides a new psychopath for Zachary Quinto to sink his teeth into."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, assigned a score of 47 out of 100 based on nine critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". For the second season,