An A-Peele-ing Twilight

We live in a world right now that is seeing something spectacular come back into popularity: Suspenseful, thrilling horror film & TV. And it’s not coming just from anyone. It’s coming from someone who started in the realm of comedy, but now entertains with his takes on suspense and thrillers. I’m talking about Jordan Peele.

Since the end of his comedy show Key & Peele, Jordan Peele has brought you two films (Get Out and Us) and is currently working on a remake of one of the greatest supernatural slasher films of all time, Candyman. But it was this week where his most recent project came to be. It came from another time, another dimension. It’s project that could only happen this time on a streaming platform. I’m talking about The Twilight Zone.

Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone is a modern rethinking of the classic psychological thriller TV show created by Rod Sterling in the 1959 and stayed on the airways until 1964. The show is one of the most beloved properties in, not just television, but all of entertainment. It’s been revived twice before Jordan Peele’s take (1985-1989 and 2002-2003), a movie made in 1983, and a famous ride at Walt Disney World known as The Tower of Terror, which itself saw versions opened in two other Disney parks (Disneyland Paris and Disney’s California Adventure until 2017). That ride even had a movie made in 1997.

Adam Scott in “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet”

Now something is different with this take on The Twilight Zone. CBS has put this take of the show on CBS All Access, their streaming platform. That is making this take a little more adult. And that is proving to be true based on the first two episodes. Loaded with mature content and heavy language, “The Comedian” (starring Kumail Nanjiani) and “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” (starring Adam Scott) are both recreations of popular episodes from the original series. Yet, Peele has found a way to implement modern day themes (gun violence, terrorism, and paranoia) into these episodes to where they fit in the overall theme of The Twilight Zone: Keeping you guessing what may happen until you are dumbfounded by what really happens. These first two episodes also give you time to reflect upon yourself and what you can do to make sure you don’t fall victim to the ultimate evil in the world: Yourself.

Tracy Morgan & Kumail Nanjiani in “The Comedian”

After watching the first two episodes, I’m excited to tune in every week to see what next Jordan Peele brings to The Twilight Zone’s legacy. And so far, he isn’t disappointing. With a cast that includes Ike Barinholtz, Seth Rogen, Zazie Beetz, John Cho, Ginnifer Goodwin, and other award-winning actors and actresses, this new take on The Twilight Zone will be one that tackles other important issues. A future episode tackles another recreation of an old episode called “Kid President,” which will star Jacob Tremblay as the modern-day president in kid form. We also know that, from what we’ve seen in both Get Out and Us, this take on The Twilight Zone will show that Jordan Peele, who has also taken over as narrator from creator Rod Sterling, is not afraid to tackle political and social issues. Those issues are why the show may or may not have been created in the first place back in 1959.

So now I invite you, if you dare, to sit back and take in one of the more thrilling shows on television today. A show so thrilling that it can pull you away from your reality and take you directly to The Twilight Zone.

Have you made your trip to The Twilight Zone? Let us know in the comments below!

Written By: Thomas Shults

Twitter: @t_shults89

Instagram: @t_shults89

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