'Tell Me A Story' Season 2 preview: The modern take on the Grimm's Brothers' fairy tales promises a more sinister plot in the sequel
Not all fairy tales have happy endings, or at least not the modern versions of them. While stories like 'Cinderella', 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'Beauty and the Beast' might have ended on a happy, positive note, it is only so when they are addressed to children.
When it comes to taking a lateral perspective to classic tales, there's a lot more to them than what meets the eye. CBS' online streaming network launched its original suspense-thriller-drama series 'Tell Me A Story' in 2018.
The nine-episode anthology follows age-old, popular fairy tales and twists them to suit the current times, albeit with a more menacing, ominous angle. The revolutionary and one-of-its-kind plot deals with loss, love, greed, revenge, murder, and mayhem, or pretty much every sin as the Bible describes, or perhaps even more.
The first season extracted from the ideas of fairy tales like 'Three Little Pigs', 'Red Riding Hood', and 'Hansel and Gretel' and weaved them into the journeys of the protagonists who are not only jaded themselves but also find themselves in extremely convoluted life events.
After a successful first season, the show is back with its sequel with more intense and decadent characters and plots that are mind-bending, to say the least. But as anthologies would have it, Season 2 of 'Tell Me A Story' will see a fresh set of characters and stories and not take off from where it left last season.
However, lead actors like Paul Wesley and Danielle Campbell are back for the second season, along with Carrie-Anne Moss as Rebecca Pruitt, Odette Annable as Maddie Pruitt, Eka Darville as Beau Morris, Matt Lauria as Jackson Pruitt, Ashley Madekwe as Simone Garland, Danielle Campbell as Olivia Moon, Garcelle Beauvais as Veronica Garland, Caleb Castille as Ron, and Christopher Meyer as Derek.
The grisly plot will see a modern, but very disturbing take on three iconic fairy tales of all times — 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Cinderella' and 'Sleeping Beauty'.
It follows the story of Tucker Reed, a struggling, insomniac author who is working on a tragic love story, Ashley Rose Pruitt, a successful singer whose life would turn around due to a disastrous incident, and Olivia, who would give up on her love, only to find herself in unexpected situations.
The psychologically challenging stories intertwine each of these characters but in a surreal way. If you are wondering if there is any connection to the original tales, then you might want to watch it with an entirely fresh perspective and leave your expectations of what fairy tales are supposed to be.
It would be extremely wrong to expect a glass slipper or a 'Prince Charming' in this version of the traditional tales, because 'Tell Me A Story' Season 2 is a tale without so much of a fairy angle to it.
Thought-provoking and intense at every turn, the 10-episode sequel promises more evil of mankind than what we can imagine.
'Tell Me A Story' Season 2 premieres on Thursday, December 5 on CBS All Access.