As a fan of horror for several years, I have always looked forward to when streaming services decide to focus on something a little more scary. Whether that means coming out with some awesome horror movies or producing excellent scary TV shows, like The Haunting of Hill House, I am always down for it. So, imagine my surprise when I found out that Guillermo del Toro, a true master of horror, was teaming up with Netflix to bring a brand new anthology series called Cabinet of Curiosities to the platform.
To say I was stoked would be an understatement. I grew up adoring a lot of del Toro’s work, from dark fantasy movies like Pan’s Labyrinth, to some of his latest work, The Shape of Water. But now, hearing that he’s stepping into the TV scene again after many, many years is something anyone could get behind.
But, what exactly is Cabinet of Curiosities? When is the show coming out? Who’s going to be in it? Today we have the answers to those questions and more with these six quick things.
Cabinet Of Curiosities Will Have A Special Release Schedule In October
According to Deadline, Cabinet of Curiosities is going to have a pretty particular release. While most shows on Netflix tend to release all the episodes at once, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is going to have a four-day release schedule, starting on October 25th, 2022, according to Deadline.
Each day, two new episodes will premiere, starting off on the 25th, and moving forward on both the 26th, 27th, and finally, the 28th, a four-day event.
This isn’t the first time that Netflix has released episodes in specific timeframes. Most recently, they split up Stranger Things Season 4 into two volumes, releasing them about a month apart. They also had weekly installments of three episodes for another popular TV show, Arcane, in November of 2021, and had weekly episodes of The Circle, so it’s not surprising for Netflix to be doing a special release like this once again, as part of the 2022 TV premiere schedule.
Cabinet Of Curiosities Will Be An Anthology Series, Described As A "Macabre Mashup Of Genre-Defining Horror
If you want to know what Cabinet of Curiosities is going to be about, we have the details on that. When the show was announced by Netflix on Twitter, initially it was described as an eight-part series that would “challenge our notions” of what true horror is like.
A tweet followed up after that from @NetflixGeeked on Twitter said that the show would be a mash-up of the “macabre” and “genre-defining horror.” To be honest, that already sounds like an amazing premise for a horror series, and hearing that it’s not just going to be one kind of horror makes me even more excited.
Guillermo Del Toro Is Writing Two Episodes, And The Rest Will Be Based On Existing Short Stories
Also from the @NetflixGeeked tweet, we got our first look at what exactly the stories are going to be. Six of the episodes are going to be based on already existing stories from authors, such as H.P. Lovecraft, Henry Kuttner, and more.
However, the other two episodes, which will be interspersed with the rest of the show, were written by the man himself, Guillermo del Toro, and will be completely original horror-based stories. What exactly these stories are going to be about or based on is unknown as of now, but already it sounds like they have a nice line-up for what’s going to happen.
Each Episode Will Be Directed By A New Person And Star A New Cast
Something else that came out with the news is that each episode is not only going to be directed by someone new, but also have a completely different cast. While other anthology series often have one cast that changes characters and stories with each new season (shows like American Horror Story), each episode of Cabinet of Curiosities will have a new set of actors and actresses, as well as directors, for each installment.
A couple of the directors who were confirmed from the @NetflixGeeked tweet were Jennifer Kent (known for movies The Babadook and The Nightingale), David Prior (known for The Empty Man), Guillermo Navarro (known for shows like Luke Cage and Preacher), and so many other great additions.
Another piece of news that came from these tweets is who the writers are who have adapted these famous stories. David S. Goyer (who wrote a lot of the story of The Dark Knight trilogy) is set to write an episode, Regina Corrado (who worked on the HBO series, Deadwood) will pen a story with del Toro, along with many other talented writers.
Already, Cabinet of Curiosities is looking to become one of the most diverse set of stories out there with all these different writers. Guillermo del Toro sure did his homework when picking out who he wants for this series.
Much Of The Cast For Cabinet Of Curiosities Has Already Been Set
It was also announced with those tweets that a good part of the cast had already signed on, so we already know several of the actors and actresses who are a part of Cabinet of Curiosities. The list goes on and on, but there are some heavy hitters on here that I’m sure fans of horror and fantasy have seen many times before.
For example, Andrew Lincoln (of The Walking Dead fame for his much celebrated character, Rick Grimes) has signed on for an episode, which will be written by Guillermo del Toro. Demetrius Grosse from Fear the Walking Dead has also signed on for an episode, which will be directed by Guillermo Navarro.
Ben Barnes, from the Netflix original series, Shadow and Bone, is also set to star in an episode, directed by Keith Thomas.
Another name that wasn’t originally announced with the starting cast, but came out later on, is Rupert Grint, according to Deadline. Grint, best known for his starring role as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series, has had his share of horror television before as a part of the main cast of Servant, so I can’t wait to see what he does in this.
Other additions to the cast include Eric Andre, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Essie Davis, Kate Micucci, and more, according to the official teaser released by Netflix on Youtube.
The Episode Titles Have Already Been Revealed
In a first look that was released by Netflix on YouTube, we’ve already found out the titles of what all eight episodes of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities are going to be. The story titles are as follows:
Already looking at these titles has me theorizing what the stories of these episodes are going to be. I can’t wait for this anthology to drop soon.
Watch The Teaser Trailer For Cabinet Of Curiosities Below
If you for some reason haven’t seen the teaser trailer yet for Cabinet of Curiosities, be sure to check it out below:
What are you the most excited for with Cabinet of Curiosities? The cast? The stories? The horror. I know I’ll be sitting right there on my couch with my popcorn waiting for this to come to my TV screen. Oh, how I wish spooky season would come quicker.
