'666 Park Avenue' begins its end this June

Even though ABC’s supernatural drama 666 Park Avenue was cancelled last November, four new episodes will wrap things up into a tight, creepy bow this summer.

According to Deadline, the unaired episodes will return on Saturday, June 22 at 9 p.m. ET.

The series debuted last September and revolved around the ill-fated tenants of NYC’s Drake apartment building and its devilish landlords. It stars Terry O'Quinn from Lost and Vanessa Williams as Faustian masterminds that offer to make the wishes of tenants come true for a price.

Here are the titles and air dates of the final four episodes: “The Comfort of Death” (June 22); “Sins of the Father” (June 29); “The Elysian Fields” (July 6); and, finally “Lazarus” (July 13).

For a refresher on the last-aired-episode, “Hypnos,", check out our recap.

-Larissa Mrykalo

'666 Park Avenue' episodes shelved until summer

The devil couldn't save ABC’s paranormal series 666 Park Avenue, and now we’ve learned from Deadline.com that the remaining four eps of the ill-fated first season won’t air until this summer.

The series was cancelled in November and it was assumed that it would return much earlier. Writers got to work so the series would have closure, but now, we have to wait until the warmer months to see the fate of The Drake and its residents.

-Larissa Mrykalo

ABC, CBS plan paranormal summer 2013

ABC isn’t giving up on paranormal shows, despite the recent cancellation of the Faustian drama 666 Park Avenue. In fact, the net has ordered a new series for the Summer 2013 slate called Weird Desk.

The show is already being compared to The X-Files and is written by Stargate’s Carl Binder and The Librarian’s David Titcher.

According to Deadline.com, the show revolves around a "clandestine organization" that investigates "alleged real-life mysteries from this world and beyond."

The Weird Desk works "above the levels of top secret and above the office of the President" and is "the destination for mysterious intelligence rerouted from the CIA and NSA ... tasked with investigating and solving occurrences of the paranormal, supernatural and sometimes extra-terrestrial." The lead characters are "Morgan," a socially-awkward genius and his special forces partner "Rosetta."

Not to be outdone, summer has CBS premiering the Steven Spielberg-produced drama, Under the Dome, based on the Stephen King novel. According to HuffingtonPost the series "will follow a New England town that finds itself suddenly - and without explanation - sealed off from the rest of the world by a transparent dome; The town's residents wind up living in post-apocalyptic conditions while they search for answers about the dome.”

With TNT bringing back fan-favorite Falling Skies, this summer is shaping up to be extra mysterious and paranormally fantastic!

-Larissa Mrykalo

'666 Park Avenue': 'Hypnos'

Courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO

Well folks, this was the ninth and last episode of 666 Park Ave for 2012. Four more episodes remain of the cancelled series and we hope they provide us with all the answers that we crave. Tonight’s episode started to clear up some mysteries, featured an Oscar-winner who excels at channeling the spiritual plane, and we even caught a glimpse of Olivia and Gavin’s thought-to-be-dead daughter, Sasha.

Whoopi! It’s 1927!

Maris Elder (Whoopi Goldberg) is another mysterious resident of the Drake. At the end of last week’s episode, Nona took Jane to her symbol-laden door to meet her because she may hold the power to help Jane remember what she was doing during her dissociative episode.

'666 Park Avenue' recap: 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

Jane flies over the cuckoo's nest. Courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO


After having a week off, this week’s episode of the (unfortunately) cancelled  666 Park Avenue, picks up with a distraught Henry passing out "Missing Person" fliers. Jane has been missing for 36 hours and Detective Cooper is on the case.

Jane Enters the Cuckoo’s Nest

Jane eventually shows up in a dream-like Times Square and an older female telepathically communicates, "You shouldn’t have come here." Magically, the dream fades and Jane is found confused and wandering in the real Times Square, screaming for her Henry.

Canceled '666 Park Avenue' sees ratings boost, series finale promised

After ABC announced last week that genre show 666 Park Avenue was getting the series axe - thus dooming it to an unlucky 13 episodes - fans of the Faustian horror soap wondered if they'd be left in Limbo about the Drake building and its hellbound residents.

Wonder no more. Park Avenue executive producers David Wilcox and Matt Miller tell TVLine that they have been given enough time to allow the show to end with plotlines wrapped up, and is "building to a powerful and surprising series finale, where all your questions will be answered."

They added, "We hope fans of the show continue watching all the way to the end of Jane and Henry’s incredible journey to the dark side."

The journey to the dark side has been a slow, steady one for the show, however, due to declining ratings and a drop-off of audience from its popular lead-in Revenge. Also, the show suffered from the perception that it played it too safe in the horror/thriller world - especially compared to the gory liberties taken on American Horror Story over at FX (which just got renewed for Season 3).

Interestingly, the show experienced an impressive 77% bump during its Nov. 4 episode when the DVR numbers were included with the "live ratings," prompting star David Annable to take to Twitter to complain:

"Well this really sucks! You have to give shows time to grow! Nielsen is so outdated!.. We had the biggest movement of ANY show for the week 77% increase with the DVR ratings… I’m sorry but they f***ed up."

So what do you think? Did you watch the show, and will you miss it? Think Annable has a point about Nielsen being outdated? Is there any chance that this could launch a longer debate about how nets should measure the popularity of their shows?

-Aaron Sagers

'666 Park Avenue' recap: 'Downward Spiral'

Courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO

This week’s episode of 666 Park Avenue begins in the Drake back in 1998. A pregnant woman named Melanie is visiting her mom (who apparently is Gavin Doran’s favorite resident). Her mom, who turns out to be Nona’s currently catatonic grandma Lottie Clark, warns her daughter to get the hell out of there and not to come back until her daughter is born. As Melanie tries to leave, her elevator breaks down and she goes into labor. A theme for tonight is "Children of the Drake" and since Nona was born there, she is a permanent resident.

'666 Park Avenue' recap: 'Diabolic'

Courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO

On 666 Park Avenue, it’s the day after the big Halloween party and tensions are running high at the Drake. Jane was chased through the building by an axe-wielding ghost, so naturally, she’s going to be a bit on edge. The show begins with an homage to the Psycho shower scene but luckily, it’s just a dream.

'666 Park Avenue' recap: 'A Crowd of Demons'

courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO

All HELL broke loose on tonight's new episode. In the opening scene, we learned a little something about the smokey suitcase guy. His name is "Peter Kramer" (Jim True-Frost) and after a conversation he had in the elevator of the Drake on Halloween, 1929, he seems to have invited evil into his home.

Peter and some buds apparently did a little wealth-inducing ritual in the basement of their apartment building. According to the time in history, this is understandable since the stock market just crashed. When he gets home to his wife and daughter, things go down hill fast. He reveals that his firm was closed and then his eye gets all wonky. Stress twitch? Unlikely. He tells his wife that, "In Heaven, you will be truly happy." That's not a good sign and neither is the ax with which he starts to bludgeon her. Their daughter hides under the bed and mama manages to give her a necklace that she urges to keep in the family. We end up seeing this necklace later on Jane. Isn't is Jane's grandmother's cherished necklace? Hmmm …

FEARnet explores big business of scares, Halloween and beyond

BY AARON SAGERS

In one of the most extensive studies on Halloween and the horror genre, research from cable network and website FEARnet shows the entire country has been overtaken by Oct. 31 fever - with the business of scary becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry.

According to the study (the graphic for which, left, is embiggenable), in 2011, Halloween-related spending "neared 7 billion dollars; up from 3.29 billion dollars in 2005." What's more, the research revealed that most people will spend, on average, $72 on costumes, candy and decorations. And you know those pop-up Halloween stores that overtake mini-malls each season? There will be an estimated 15,000 of them to choose from. Additionally, there will be a potential 41 million trick-or-treaters, and costume sales for them will drum about a billion bucks. Costumes for adults will rake in about $1.2 billion. The outfits for Fido, Tabby and the nation's pets will generate $310 million. On the candy front, the sweets industry makes more during Halloween - about 23 percent of its annual sales - than in any other season.

All these numbers add up to what horror nerds have instinctively known for years: Scary is a lifestyle.

"That’s why it surprises me that more people don’t realize that this genre isn’t just a Halloween business," said Peter Block, president and general manager of FEARnet (and former President of Acquistions & Co-Productions at Lionsgate). "There’s a reason adults spend so much money on costumes each year; We want to revisit what we loved as children."

That desire extends to about 44 percent of people choosing to dress in costume each year, and 23% planning to visit one of more than 300 haunted house attractions at theme parks, historic sites, zoos, etc. - and generating upwards of $200 million annually for those venues.

"This genre is a passion, and there’s no on/off switch for people’s passions—it doesn’t just start up during October and fade away once November arrives," Block said.

"There’s a constant thirst for it," he added. "People love being scared, and they love being scared together ... We’re seeing this addressed more and more, especially on TV, where just about every network has a genre show."

Block's point is a good one. On the television front, season three of AMC's zombie drama The Walking Dead bowed to about 11 million viewers when it debuted Oct. 14. Then there are other horror-themed shows like Grimm, 666 Park Avenue, American Horror Story, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Dexter, all of which command dedicated fan bases. And more horror series like The Following and Hannibal are on the way.

Within the film community, the Halloween spirit continues beyond Oct. 31 as well.

Last year's Paranormal Activity 3 opened with $53 million in its first weekend. That made it the biggest October opening ever, and contributed to the $3.3 billion that the horror/thriller/suspense genre earned in 2011. According to the FEARnet research, January 2012's The Devil Inside had the third biggest opening in history for that month, and the Saw films, the top-grossing horror franchise, has earned $873 million.

Block acknowledged that horror has traditionally been a genre that many advertisers have stayed away from, but that, "right now, it’s something to be embraced, and advertising is beginning to reflect this."

"At the end of the day, advertisers are always going to go where the eyeballs are," he said.

'666 Park Avenue' recap: 'Hero Complex'

BY LARISSA MRYKALO

Sunday night's episode of ABC's 666 Park Avenue was even darker and a touch more complicated than usual. Oh, and our old friend the Smoke Monster paid another visit to our TV screens. Here's a brief recap to bring you up to speed and hopefully clear up any confusion.

Annie Morgan

So Annie the writer (Aubrey Dollar) is still alive and tied up in her apartment. Evil Russian mobster Kandinsky wants to know the source that revealed info on him. She pleads with him for her life and her left eye, and finally caves and rats out her boss, Ned.

'666 Park Avenue' recap: 'The Dead Don't Stay Dead'

Annie gets imaginative with her writing, courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO


This week's episode of 666 Park Ave began exactly where the last left off and proved to be extra creepy because ... Dolls! Jane is banging on the door that trapped her and, of course, has a low battery on her phone. Was it low to start with or did she experience battery drain due to the paranormal activity? She sees movement, hears a low whisper, sees those damn dolls, and then, her leg gets grabbed.

Henry rescues and comforts her and investigates the room. He finds nothing and, it turns out that there's an air vent where voices can easily stream in. Like a lot of people do after they have a paranormal experience that gets debunked, Jane feels silly and even questions her sanity. As they walk back to their apartment, a figure runs by and we get to see a little ghost girl ... clutching a doll. Who is she?

'666 Park Avenue' ratings go to hell

According to Entertainment Weekly, ABC’s primetime supernatural soap took a 19 percent dip in its second episode. All of ABC's drama block took a hit last night, but none more so than 666.

Then again, reports EW, CBS’ 10 p.m. rival for 666, The Mentalist (8.7 million, 1.6), potentially dropped even more than the ABC show, but these CBS numbers are all slightly off kilter in these preliminary ratings due to football overrun early in the evening."

Think this a sign of things to come, or just an unsteady sophomore week?

-Aaron Sagers

'666 Park Avenue' recap: 'Murmurations'

Courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO

"You Belong to Me"

What a fitting song to start the second episode of ABC's devilish series! As the popular 1952 hit song plays, Gavin Doran emerges from the (working) elevator at the Drake. Jane confronts him about her not being informed about the death of John Barlow and Tony displays a tinge of jealousy when he hears that the party planners have arrived to set up for the event to which he was not invited. Tony was passed over for the job as building manager…any guesses as to what his motivation (desire) was?

'666 Park Avenue' recap: Pilot

courtesy ABC

BY LARISSA MRYKALO

The anticipated premiere of ABC's new horror-drama 666 Park Avenue kicked off the Halloween season in style. New York City's historic Drake hotel serves as the setting and the potential portal to the underworld. We get to meet an interesting cast of characters and plot lines are quickly set up.

Symphony for the Devil

The pilot episode began at the symphony, with the owners of the Drake, Olivia (Vanessa Williams) and Gavin Doran (Terry O'Quinn), enjoying the violin performance of one of their own tenants, Mr. Hardwell. Strangely though, he ends up fiddling his heart out until his fingers are a bloody mess. What is it with violinists and Satan? Paging Charlie Daniels! We glean from the following scene(s) that Mr. Hardwell was the resident manager of the Drake for the past 10 years. He rushes back to his apartment and tries his "damned"est to escape. When Gavin Dorn calls him on the lobby phone, we learn that a contract has been signed ... and broken. Hmmm ... a contract? Hardwell manages to make it outside but the door comes to life and sucks him back inside to someplace ... "warmer."

Warner Bros. invades NY Comic Con

After news was released last week that The Walking Dead would have a strong presence at New York Comic-Con (complete with panel and signings by Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, David Morrissey and Michael Rooker), Warner Bros. announced today it would be rolling out a lot of talent from their fall lineup for the con.

According to a press release, the Warner talent will include 666 Park Avenue stars Terry O’Quinn (Lost) and Vanessa Williams (Desperate Housewives); Arrow stars Stephen Amell (Private Practice), Katie Cassidy (Supernatural) and Willa Holland (Gossip Girl); The Following stars Kevin Bacon (X-Men: First Class) and James Purefoy (Rome); and Person of Interest creator/executive producer Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy) with series stars Michael Emerson (Lost), Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Kevin Chapman (Rescue Me), among others.

The complete WBTV schedule is available after the jump...

Warner Bros. keys up for another Comic-Con

For the fifth consecutive year, Warner Bros. will create a set of limited-edition collectible hotel keycards, which will be in use at top hotels throughout the San Diego area during Comic-Con 2012. There will be more than 40,000 branded room keys at 38 participating San Diego hotels, giving fans an instant collectible.

In conjunction with Warner Bros.' new fall series, the cards will feature artwork from 666 Park Avenue ("a keycard grants access to anything you desire — as long as it’s inside your room"), The Arrow ("features star Stephen Amell as the Arrow in an all-new in-character photo"), and The Revolution ("a keycard opens hotel doors every time — no blackout here!"). Read more about Warner Bros., check out their Comic-Con site.

Check out the key art and read up on the shows after the jump...

Hellish new details about '666 Park Avenue'

Courtesy ABC

The coming Fall 2012 TV season is looking devilish courtesy ABC's new show, 666 Park Avenue. Based on the book series by Gabriella Pierce, the show stars Terry O'Quinn from Lost (in full-on evil Locke form?) as Gavin Doran, the owner of The Drake, a lux Manhattan apartment building where supernatural occurrences.

What looks to be a bit of The Devil's Advocate meets Needful Things - with a dash of American Horror Story thrown in for good measure - the 80 residents of The Drake enter into Faustian bargains with deadly results. (O'Quinn even says in the trailer, "What I do is fulfill needs," and he apparently uses Vanessa Williams as a helper in the task.)

But the question is, are the residents dealing with the actual devil or just some supernatural stand-in?

(What follows is spoilery)

Based on some inside info about the show, Paranormal Pop Culture has learned that Gavin is likely the devil and The Drake is a gateway to hell. A big marketing push from ABC will focus on asking viewers, "How far would you go to make all your dreams come true?" and "Make a deal with the devil and there will be hell to pay."

Sounds pretty cool, and when the show premieres in late September or October, we look forward to spending some time in hell.