Demons, ITV’s modern day take on the Dracula legend starts this Saturday (3rd January). The series stars Philip Glenister as Rupert Galvin, a larger-than-life American with a zero tolerance policy to the rabble of mythical “half-life” entities that exist all around us and Christian Cooke as Van Helsing’s descendant Luke, who is also Galvin’s the godson.
Luke discovers it’s his destiny to fight hordes of vampires, demons and zombies while trying to juggle an ordinary life of school exams, parties and learning to drive.
Helping Galvin to train Luke in his quest is the beautiful but icy cold Mina Harker (Zoe Tapper – Affinity, A Harlot’s Progress), a blind concert pianist with a history, who is also the foremost authority on the undesirable entities preying on humanity.
But before they have time to properly prepare Luke, he is faced with a daunting opponent in the form of the villainous Gladiolus Thrip (Mackenzie Crook -The Office, Pirates of the Caribbean) a sinister vampire with a burning hatred for the Van Helsing line and all they stand for.
Series producer Julian Murphy says he and and fellow producer Johnny Capp were attracted to the supernatural because “the script and storytelling process allow us to use our imaginations in ways that simply aren’t acceptable in your average cop show.”
“We focused on the Van Helsing legacy because it gives us a ready made mythology and experience has taught us that this is very important in dramas of this kind. But perhaps the most important inspiration was London itself and, more importantly, the secret world that lies beneath those very clean and modern streets.”
The six-part series is a Shine production for ITV1. Founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Shine has produced shows such as Hex, Sugar Rush and Sinchronicity.
There will also be a tie-in game available at www.itv.com/demons – set in the dark streets of London, players control Luke with the aim of capturing half- lives which are taking over the capital. From his underground base, and with help from his friend Ruby and mystical expert Mina, players hunt down and capture the deadly creatures to secure a place on the leader board.
Demons, ITV1 Saturday 3rd January