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The CW's Lost Boys show will 'keep the essence' of the movie, says series songwriter G Tom Mac
While there's no lack of interest in the project, The CW's Lost Boys show is having trouble leaving the coffin. Last summer, the network scrapped the initial pilot, dropping most of the cast in the process. Creator Rob Thomas (iZombie) set out to rewrite the script alongside Heather Mitchell (Scandal), with Marcos Siega (The Following) set to direct. Branden Cook (Industry), Lincoln Younes (Grand Hotel), and Ruby Cruz (Castle Rock) all boarded the cast back in February.
Exclusively speaking with SYFY WIRE, musician G Tom Mac confirms that the axed pilot episode was filmed last spring before the reshoot order was handed down. Things were getting back on track this year until the pandemic hit and drove the series into a deep, undead sleep.
"It’s stuck in limbo, even though they agreed to all the new script writing and all of that," Mac tells us. "It’s hard to know; it’s a day-by-day thing for all these shows, when you can go back in [and shoot]. They were starting to go back, it looked like they could go back into production, and [everything shut down]."
G Tom Mac (aka Gerard McMahon) performed and co-wrote "Cry Little Sister" for the 1987 movie and was tapped to write and arrange songs for the small-screen adaptation.
"They were adamant, obviously, about my theme song because you can’t have the show without that," he says. "With this, I’ve certainly pulled together a very modernized version of 'People Are Strange' and then just creating contemporary, but cutting edge stuff that is appropriate for the show. And there are gonna be other artists [on the soundtrack] as well."
To be clear, Mac isn't scoring the project, although he does know that there are "a couple people in line" for the job.
He goes on to praise the show's commitment to representation, stating, "cast-wise, it’s more diversified in coordination with the times, as it should be. It’s a little bit more female-driven in its way."
On that front, Mac touches on how the vampire-hunting Frog brothers (originally played by Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander) have been turned into the Frog sisters. He describes them as "really cool" and having "a very girl power factor going on with them." With that said, he's not sure how change-ups to the source material will register with passionate die-hards of the movie.
"I’m sure it’s gonna be torn down by the hardcore fans; there’s just no way that this show can win," Mac adds. "But it wasn't designed for the hardcore fans. It was basically trying to keep the essence of what the film projected ... It’s a reimagining and it’s an adaptation of the film because all the characters are in place."
Set in modern day, the show follows two brothers who move to a seaside town in North Carolina with their single mother. Once there, they learn that the place is teeming with vampires. Branden Cook is set to play the older brother Garrett (inspired by Jason Patric's David); Lincoln Younes takes up the post of Benjamin, the charismatic lead vampire (based on Kiefer Sutherland's David); and Ruby Cruz is Elsie, a half-vampire, who finds a connection with Garrett (an ode to Jami Gertz's Star).
There's no question that it's a contemporary translation of Joel Schumacher's vision, but there was allegedly some talk of deviating from the formula.
"Rob’s original script, or storyline, was that it would go through decades of the vampires," Mac reveals. "Going through the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and every season would have a different decade that they would travel through. The CW didn’t think that was a good idea, so that got passed on. I thought [the idea] was kind of cool, actually — it could’ve worked."
With most live-action productions still on hold amid the pandemic, there's no telling when The Lost Boys will get to shoot its fresh pilot. But like we said earlier, the interest is there. Even CW head honcho Mark Pedowitz wants to see it realized, going so far as to describe the show as a "passion of mine" in March.
"I’ve been on board with this thing for about three years now, almost four years. [They've been] trying to get it up and running. It’s had many obstacles, including the pandemic now," Mac concludes. "I hope it bloody well comes out soon before I’m gone."
