Our ongoing look back at sci fi / fantasy TV shows that were cancelled way too soon or pilots that never made it to series.

Syfy announced this week that it will not go forward with the Tremors TV series that would have brought back Kevin Bacon from the original film. The project got started back in 2015 when Bacon showed an interest in returning to the franchise that began with the 1990 film about giant subterranean worms (named “graboids”) attacking people in the small town of Perfection, Nevada. Bacon starred with Fred Ward, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire in that film which became a cult classic after its home video release. Bacon had said about the role of Val McKee: “This is the only character I’ve played that I’ve ever thought about revisiting. I just got to thinking, where would this guy end up after 25 years?”







Plans for the reboot series started with Universal Television and Blumhouse Productions, and at one point it was headed to Amazon Prime. In 2017, the project moved to Syfy and a pilot was filmed. The network chose to pass on the series, though, as announced this week. No specific reason was given, and Bacon thanked all of those involved with the production on his Instagram account:

Sad to report that my dream of revisiting the world of Perfection will not become a reality. Although we made a fantastic pilot (IMHO) the network has decided not to move forward. Thanks to our killer cast and everyone behind the scenes who worked so hard. And always keep one eye out for GRABOIDS!

This would actually have been the second Tremors television series, as a short-lived small screen version aired on the Sci Fi Channel (the previous name for Syfy) in 2003. The franchise has a notable cult following, and five direct-to-video sequels have been produced with Tremors 6: A Cold Day in Hell just hitting DVD and Blu-ray this week. Interestingly, the Kevin Bacon pilot did not include the actor who has become the face of the franchise since Bacon’s departure after the first film. Michael Gross has reprised his survivalist character Burt Gummer in almost every incarnation including the 2003 series (he played an ancestor of Burt’s, Hiram Gummer, in the 2004 prequel The Legend Begins). Gross has been the franchise lead since the third movie (he shared lead duties with Fred Ward in the first sequel) and it seemed odd that he was left out of the pilot that Bacon worked on (also that most of the entertainment news sites made no mention of it). The premise for the pilot also seemed like it would ignore most if not all of the sequels along with the first TV series.

Allegedly the pilot tested well and it was directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice). But if Syfy had gone forward with the series, it may have generated a backlash from long-time fans who would be unhappy that the sequels had been retconned out existence and that Burt Gummer was no longer part of the story. It’s possible the Syfy series could have left the door open for Gross to return to his long-time role, but ignoring the other installments in the franchise would almost certainly have been unpopular with its followers. And that could have impacted the show’s audience especially since the original movie is not well-known these days beyond its cult following. Perhaps it was for the best that the series did not move forward, but I for one would have at least like to have seen Val chasing down graboids one more time, even if it meant he would be doing it without the help of Burt Gummer and Earl Basset (Fred Ward was rumored to have been back for the pilot according to IMDb, but I have seen no confirmation). Perhaps the pilot will sneak out on to YouTube at some point or get shopped to another venue (maybe it will go back to Amazon Prime). In the meantime, Tremors 6 is now on video to keep the torch alive for the franchise and maybe they can convince Kevin Bacon to come back for the next film.

Aired: Never Aired

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Hunter Parrish, Toks Olagundoye, P.J. Byrne

Credits: Vincenzo Natali (Director), Andrew Miller (Writer)