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IMDbPro

The Following

  • TV Series
  • 2013–2015
  • TV-14
  • 43m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
90K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,133
108
Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy in The Following (2013)
Trailer for The Follwing: The Complete First Season
Play trailer1:59
31 Videos
99+ Photos
CrimeDramaHorror

A brilliant, charismatic, and psychotic serial killer communicates with other active serial killers and activates a cult of believers who follow his every command.A brilliant, charismatic, and psychotic serial killer communicates with other active serial killers and activates a cult of believers who follow his every command.A brilliant, charismatic, and psychotic serial killer communicates with other active serial killers and activates a cult of believers who follow his every command.

  • Creator
    • Kevin Williamson
  • Stars
    • Kevin Bacon
    • James Purefoy
    • Shawn Ashmore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    90K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,133
    108
    • Creator
      • Kevin Williamson
    • Stars
      • Kevin Bacon
      • James Purefoy
      • Shawn Ashmore
    • 428User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 14 nominations

    Episodes45

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated

    Videos31

    The Following: Promo Joe Lives
    Clip 0:33
    Watch The Following: Promo Joe Lives
    The Following: Rise And Shine
    Clip 1:02
    Watch The Following: Rise And Shine
    The Following: Sacrifice Promo
    Clip 0:34
    Watch The Following: Sacrifice Promo
    The Following: Cc 2012 Booth 1
    Clip 2:36
    Watch The Following: Cc 2012 Booth 1
    The Following: Promo Exist Needledrop
    Clip 0:18
    Watch The Following: Promo Exist Needledrop
    The Following: Cc 2012 Panel 3
    Clip 2:52
    Watch The Following: Cc 2012 Panel 3
    The Following: Cc 2012 Press Kevin Bacon
    Clip 2:16
    Watch The Following: Cc 2012 Press Kevin Bacon
    The Following: Cc 2012 Press James Purefoy
    Clip 2:38
    Watch The Following: Cc 2012 Press James Purefoy
    The Following: Cc 2012 Press Kevin Williamson
    Clip 2:49
    Watch The Following: Cc 2012 Press Kevin Williamson
    The Following: Joe Carol
    Clip 0:33
    Watch The Following: Joe Carol
    The Following: Cc 2012 Panel 1
    Clip 2:30
    Watch The Following: Cc 2012 Panel 1
    The Following: Cc 2012 Booth 2
    Clip 2:26
    Watch The Following: Cc 2012 Booth 2

    Photos387

    The Following (2013)
    The Following (2013)
    Jessica Stroup in The Following (2013)
    Jessica Stroup in The Following (2013)
    Kevin Bacon in The Following (2013)
    Diane Neal in The Following (2013)
    Kevin Bacon and Zuleikha Robinson in The Following (2013)
    Michael Ealy in The Following (2013)
    Kevin Bacon, Diane Neal, and Jessica Stroup in The Following (2013)
    Kevin Bacon and Jessica Stroup in The Following (2013)
    Kevin Bacon and Jessica Stroup in The Following (2013)
    Ruth Kearney in The Following (2013)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kevin Bacon
    Kevin Bacon
    • Ryan Hardy
    James Purefoy
    James Purefoy
    • Joe Carroll
    Shawn Ashmore
    Shawn Ashmore
    • Mike Weston
    Valorie Curry
    Valorie Curry
    • Emma Hill
    Sam Underwood
    Sam Underwood
    • Mark…
    Jessica Stroup
    Jessica Stroup
    • Max Hardy
    Natalie Zea
    Natalie Zea
    • Claire Matthews
    Zuleikha Robinson
    Zuleikha Robinson
    • Gwen
    Nico Tortorella
    Nico Tortorella
    • Jacob Wells
    Kyle Catlett
    Kyle Catlett
    • Joey Matthews
    Valerie Cruz
    Valerie Cruz
    • Agent Gina Mendez
    Annie Parisse
    Annie Parisse
    • Debra Parker
    Gregg Henry
    Gregg Henry
    • Dr. Arthur Strauss
    Connie Nielsen
    Connie Nielsen
    • Lily Gray
    Tiffany Boone
    Tiffany Boone
    • Mandy Lang
    John Lafayette
    John Lafayette
    • Marshall Turner…
    Chinasa Ogbuagu
    Chinasa Ogbuagu
    • Deidre Mitchell
    Gbenga Akinnagbe
    Gbenga Akinnagbe
    • Tom
    • Creator
      • Kevin Williamson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In a recent interview, Kevin Williamson revealed that one of the first ideas for this show was in his draft for Scream 3 (2000), the one movie of the franchise that he ended up not writing. The idea was that Sidney Prescott would arrive to a house to find a group of murdered people, implying that she was too late to save them. The twist would have been that at one moment, they would all start getting up, alive, and it would be revealed that they were all part of a cult following, "Ghostface."
    • Connections
      Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #18.15 (2013)

    User reviews428

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    A solid thriller despite obvious shortcomings
    Review of Season One:

    I'll make it clear now that I'm not a fan of Kevin Williamson. I know the guy made his name writing SCREAM and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, but I find his writing style immature and slapdash, relying on coincidence and contrivance. It rings hollow for me, so that people like Craven can make excellent films of his work is a surprise.

    THE FOLLOWING is a serial killer thriller written and created by Williamson, but to my surprise I didn't hate it. It's heavily flawed, with many episodes featuring characters who do dumb things, but on the other hand it's well acted and fast-paced, so that you never have time to dwell on the shortcomings.

    I know Kevin Bacon is an ubiquitous actor these days but he's very good as the flawed hero character here. The scene-stealer, of course, is James Purefoy, as the Messianic serial killer who inspires a cult following. As a lover of Gothic literature, I enjoyed all the Poe references, and there's so much incident that this is hard not to enjoy. THE FOLLOWING suffers from being a bit back-and-forth-ish in the narrative and having poorly written (and annoying) female characters, but I liked it enough to want to check out the second series.

    Review of Season Two:

    The good news is that Season 2 of THE FOLLOWING is a definite step up in quality from the first series. This is much faster paced, more involving, and has a lot more action and incident to keep it moving along quickly. The various sub-plots are also a lot more interesting and the annoying characters like Emma and Claire are either not as annoying or get far less screen time.

    The plot kicks off from the get go with the addition of new, rival serial killers who pick up where Joe Carroll left off. The twins are great characters and bring the screen to life whenever they're around. This is one of the stabbiest shows I've ever seen, with multiple knifings seemingly every episode, although it's not excessively gory.

    Bacon feels more assured in his performance here, more world-weary, and definitely more human. Jessica Stroup is a great addition to the cast, but best of all is the returning James Purefoy, who's given time to really flesh out his character and even make him likable on occasion. He's the best thing in this and the writers know it, giving him all of the finest moments. The last episode of the series is particularly well written, giving us an unexpected plot development, but overall it's the superior quality of the writing throughout the season that makes this so enjoyable.

    Review of Season Three:

    So, here we have the final season of the show. It's a step down from the last series and the reason for that is that James Purefoy's character takes a back seat here. Instead we get some returning killers and a whole bunch of new ones, none of whom have as much as impact as the ones depicted previously.

    There's a definite sense of repetition in the show by now with lots of near-misses and the constant escape of characters being more than a little wearying. THE FOLLOWING still keeps you watching with some very dark elements in the script but I did feel it was going through the motions at other times.

    Still, every scene involving Purefoy is very good, and the pacing is a lot faster than in the first series, which makes this superior to that. I have to say that it does feel like it finishes in the right place and anything more would probably have driven it into the ground.
    helpful•10
    2
    • Leofwine_draca
    • Nov 18, 2015

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 21, 2013 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Untitled Kevin Williamson Project
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Bonanza Productions
      • Outerbanks Entertainment
      • Warner Bros. Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      43 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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