1995’s American Gothic delivered a quirky and unique horror series, but it was out of place on the CBS schedule and cancelled after one season.
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What Is It?
This series takes place in the small town of Trinity South Carolina where the sinister Sheriff Lucas Buck has a mysterious but strong influence over the people he polices and wants to bring the young, mysteriously wise Caleb Temple (recently orphaned due to his father’s suicide), under his control. The newly arrived Dr. Crower takes guardianship of the boy and starts to uncover information about Buck’s connections to the deaths of Caleb’s sister and father, and that sets up a power struggle that could tear the town apart.
Aired: CBS, 1995-96, 1 Season Totaling 22 Episodes
Starring: Gary Cole, Lucas Black, Jake Weber, Paige Turco, Brenda Bakke, Sarah Paulson
Created By: Shaun Cassidy
Why Was It Cancelled?
This quirky and unique horror series showed up on CBS’ schedule in the Fall of 1995 but unfortunately did not survive past a single season. The versatile Gary Cole (whose roles have ranged from Brady dad in the Brady Bunch revival movies, starship captain in Babylon 5 spin-off series Crusade, and trolling middle-management boss in Office Space) delivered a standout performance as the show’s antagonist. While Lucas Black avoided the cute kid trope and provided an excellent co-lead as the young Caleb Temple. And Paige Turco stood her ground with both of these actors in one of her earlier television roles. The show delivered creepy, engaging tales held together by a loose story arc, and there was almost nothing on television at the time that matched its creepiness except maybe The X-Files which was just hitting its stride. (You can read more about the show at Cult-SciFi.com.)
American Gothic came from the Hercules/Xena crew of Sam Raimi and Robert G. Tapert as well as creator Shaun Cassidy, but it struggled to find an audience during its initial run as it diverged considerably from the standard Prime Time fare (further frustrated by the network airing its episodes out of order). It was scheduled in the viewership-challenged Friday 11 PM EST hour, and while it paired up well with its lead-in Picket Fences, that show was in its final season, and its ratings were at a low point. In addition, American Gothic had to contend with Top 20 series 20/20 over on ABC. CBS cancelled the supernatural drama after one, low-rated season, though apparently the network gave the producers enough notice that they were able to wrap up at least some of the show’s storylines.
Should It Be Rebooted?
American Gothic would go on to develop a strong cult following and there were plans to reboot the property on the big screen around 2004. Gary Cole would have returned as Sheriff Lucas Buck, and several other series regulars were set to reprise their roles with Sam Raimi returning as producer. A new actor would have stepped in as Caleb, though, as Lucas Black had grown too old to play the character. However, the movie plans stalled over various concerns and were eventually shelved altogether in 2005. It might actually be interesting to take another shot at the property, bringing back Gary Cole along with a grown-up Caleb played by the original actor and picking up the story thirty years later. But this one has been mostly forgotten, so it seems unlikely that it would return unless Raimi and/or Shaun Cassidy were to push for a revival/reboot.
Where Can You Watch It?
The full series is available on DVD and you can also purchase it VOD. It is not currently streaming on any of the major services, but you can catch episodes on YouTube from time to time.
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I bought the series on DVD. It was a great show, and I was very angry when they cancelled it! The catch phase, “There’s someone at the door” sent chills down my spine! I became a big fan of Gary Cole then, and I’m still a big fan. I was amazed that it came from Shaun Cassidy, but found that he was a terrifically talented writer and producer! I loved his show Invasion, too, as well as others. The way Gary’s character went walking through the jail whistling the theme from the Andy Griffith show, was brilliant! This was a truly imaginative show. No zombies, werewolves or vampires in sight, just chillingly imaginative characters. It’s now 2021, and after all these years, I still regret its cancellation! Imaginative series like this no longer exist!
I first saw this show, when I must have been around 13 or 14, at the same time as my parents watched it back in 1995. I think the show had a lot of promise/started off well (even though by today’s standards some of the visual effects could be considered dated).
I think it was a major mistake for this to end up cancelled as early in as it was.
I was recently able to get this on Apple TV for £13 anyhow! So far have watched the first 4 or 5 episodes, and am enjoying the rewatch.
It was a shame that it stopped after one season. I could tell that it was building up to more and more and then it suddenly stopped. They wrapped it all up, they had to have known it was ending on the last episode.
was a really good one stil rewatching it the characters and atmosphere is amazing