The Purge (TV series)


The Purge is an American anthology horror television series, based on the franchise of the same name and created by James DeMonaco. The Purge was first announced in April 2017, and stars Gabriel Chavarria, Hannah Emily Anderson, Jessica Garza, Lili Simmons, Amanda Warren, Colin Woodell and Lee Tergesen, with Cindy Robinson reprising her role as the Purge Emergency Broadcast System, Megan Lewis. The series premiered on September 4, 2018, and the first season consisted of ten episodes. In November 2018, USA Network renewed the show for a second season which premiered on October 15, 2019. The first season took place in 2027, putting it in between ' and ' on the timeline of the series. In May 2020, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Premise

With ties to the films, the series revolves around an alternate dystopian United States ruled by a totalitarian government that sanctions a 12-hour period which legalizes all crimes, including vandalism, theft, arson, and murder.
The first season follows several seemingly unconnected characters as they experience the night: Miguel Guerrero, a Marine searching for his sister Penelope who has joined a death cult; Jane Barbour, an executive who uses the Purge as an opportunity for revenge; and Jenna and Rick Betancourt, married entrepreneurs who attend a Purge party to seek investment capital from a wealthy Purge supporter.
The second season begins just as an annual Purge night is drawing to a close, and follows characters dealing with the consequences of that night and investigating conspiracies in the year before the next purge. One story involves ex-police officers who have become bank robbers. Another story follows a NFFA detective following a suspicious killing of a scientist friend and discovers many of their peers have also been killed in suspicious circumstances. Other stories include college fraternity members who went out on Purge Night to collect items on a scavenger hunt, before having to defend themselves and dealing with PTSD afterwards, as well as a husband and wife who survive an assailant on Purge Night, only to discover that it was a hitman sent to kill the husband and begin to investigate why. Clear connections between these characters and their stories become apparent as the plot unfolds.

Cast

Season 1

Main

Main

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2019)

Production

Development

A television series about the formation of the Purge was hinted at by DeMonaco. The series would possibly deal with how the New Founding Fathers were voted to office after overthrowing the U.S. Government during an economic collapse and social unrest and how they ratified the 28th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as devising the Purge. In May 2017, it was reported that USA Network would premiere the series in 2018. The series premiered on September 4, 2018. On November 6, 2018, USA Network renewed the show for a second season which premiered on October 15, 2019. On May 13, 2020, the USA Network canceled the series after two seasons.

Casting

On February 26, 2018, it was announced that Gabriel Chavarria and Jessica Garza were cast as Miguel and Penelope Guerrero. In March 2018, Amanda Warren and Colin Woodell were cast as Jane Barbour and Rick Betancourt. In April 2018, Lili Simmons, Hannah Emily Anderson, Lee Tergesen and William Baldwin were cast as Lila Stanton, Jenna Betancourt, Joe and David Ryker. In May 2018, Fiona Dourif was cast as Good Leader Tavis. In June 2019, Derek Luke, Max Martini, Paola Núñez, and Joel Allen had been cast as series regulars for the second season.
During a New York Comic Con 2019 interview, Joel Allen commented on the use of The Purge films' God mask in the TV series as "like a gift from the writers" as an actor.

Filming

Filming for the first season began May 2018.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 42% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.51/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bloated and boring, The Purge kills its own fleetingly fun premise and proves that not all stories work better on the small screen." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 44 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

Accolades

Home media

The ten episodes of the first season were released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on January 8, 2019.