Wesley opened up to ET about the differences between 'The Vampire Diaries' and his 'sophisticated' new series last month.
Paul Wesley’s out of Mystic Falls, but he can’t escape the darkness.
The Vampire Diaries alum stars alongside Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall in Tell Me a Story, CBS All Access’ new series which reimagines the world’s most beloved fairy tales as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. The show, set in modern-day New York City, will interweave “The Three Little Pigs, “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel” into an epic storyline throughout its first season.
James Wolk, Billy Magnussen, Dania Ramirez, Danielle Campbell, Dorian Missick, Michael Raymond-James, Davi Santos, Sam Jaeger and Zabryna Guevara also star in the series with Wesley, written and executive produced by Kevin Williamson alongside Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor and Liz Friedlander, who directs and executive produces the first two episodes.
Thow show’s first footage debuted at CBS’ Summer Television Critics Association press tour on Sunday.
“Most of us, we live in between right and wrong,” Cattrall says in the clip, as the show's characters descend into worlds of crime and danger. Watch the sneak peek below.
Williamson, Magnusson, Ramirez, Campbell, Missick and Santos opened up about the series at TCA, where Williamson described the show as answering the question, "What would the fairy tales look like if they were told today?"
"There's nothing else on TV like this," he explained of the fantasy series with "relevance." "I don't feel like you can find this show on any channel right now."
Williamson explained at the panel that Wolk, Wesley and Cattrall weren't able to make Sunday's panel as they were "busy with work," but couldn't praise their performances enough. Cattrall plays Little Red Riding Hood's (Campbell) grandmother, while the trailer reveals Wesley is involved in the Three Little Pigs storyline. Wolk's role is still unclear.
ET’s Keltie Knight sat down with Williamson, Wolk and Wesley at Comic-Con last month, where they opened up about what fans can expect from the 10-episode series.
“It’s a drama, so it has a lot of dark undertones, and scary moments, but it’s a very dramatic show. It’s a very emotional show,” Williamson expressed. We’re sort of in the cable space, and we get to sort of play with the characters, and sort of unravel them. The bad guy becomes good, the good guy becomes bad. You’re not quite sure what you’re watching at any given moment.”
Wesley, meanwhile, opened up about his transition from The Vampire Diaries’ Stefan to the “anti-hero” he plays on Tell Me a Story.
“I’m so flattered Kevin came to me with this, because this is the opposite of Stefan on The Vampire Diaries,” he said. “So just the fact that he was able to sort of say, ‘Hey, I want to give Paul a crack at doing something different’… I hate to say it, but it’s much more sophisticated. It’s more mature.”
“Vampire [Diaries] was very complex, but it’s a specific genre, it’s a specific audience type, and this is streaming, and this is a character who is the anti-hero in many senses… so it’s the opposite, and the fact that you were able to offer me that is [great],” he added.
Tell Me a Story premieres Wednesday, Oct. 31 on CBS All Access.
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