Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix horror anthology series “Cabinet of Curiosities” (originally titled “Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight”) has added F. Murray Abraham, Ben Barnes, Elpidia Carrillo, Essie Davis, Hannah Galway, Crispin Glover, Demetrius Grosse, David Hewlett, Andrew Lincoln, Tim Blake Nelson, Luke Roberts, Sebastian Roché, Glynn Turman and Peter Weller to its cast. The prolific Academy-Award-winning Mexican filmmaker behind “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Hellboy,” “The Shape of Water” and “Pacific Rim” will executive produce, co-showrun and direct the series — described as a curation of eight unprecedented and genre-defining sinister narratives meant to challenge traditional notions of horror, ranging from the macabre to magical, gothic to grotesque or classically creepy. Two of the eight tales are original works by del Toro.
The streaming platform also announced that Panos Cosmatos (“Mandy”), Jennifer Kent (“The Babadook”) and Vincenzo Natali (“Hannibal”) will write and direct singular episodes for the show, which has started production in Toronto. Additional episodes of the live-action, genre-twisting and chilling collection of stories will be directed by Lily Amirpour, Catherine Hardwicke, Guillermo Navarro, David Prior and Keith Thomas. They will be written by Haley Z. Boston, Regina Corrado, David S. Goyer, Lee Patterson, Aaron Stewart-Ahn and Mika Watkins.
Here are details about the confirmed episodes, cast, directors and writers:
- Davis (“The Babadook”), Lincoln (“The Walking Dead”) and Galway (“Sex/Life”) star in an episode written (based on an original story by del Toro) and directed by Kent.
- Abraham (“Amadeus”), Turman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) and Roberts (“Black Sails”) will appear in an episode written by Goyer (“The Dark Knight”) based on a short story by Michael Shea. It is directed by Prior (“The Empty Man”).
- Nelson (“Watchmen”), Carrillo (“Euphoria”), Grosse (“Lovecraft Country”) and Roché (“The Man in the High Castle”) star in an episode written by Corrado (“The Strain”) based on an original story by del Toro. It is directed by Navarro (“Godfather of Harlem”).
- Glover (“American Gods”) and Barnes (“Shadow and Bone”) star in an episode written by Patterson (“The Colony”) based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft. It is directed by Thomas (“Firestarter”).
- Weller (“Robocop”) stars in an episode directed by Cosmatos, who also writes along with Stewart-Ahn.
- Mika Watkins (“Black Mirror”) writes an episode based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, directed by Hardwicke (“Twilight”), with cast to be announced.
- Hewlett (“The Shape of Water”) is cast in an episode written and directed by Natali based on a short story by Henry Kuttner.
- Boston (“Brand New Cherry Flavor”) serves as writer of an episode based on a short story by comic book author Emily Carroll. It is directed by Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”), with cast to be confirmed.
“Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” is created by del Toro and is executive produced by Oscar winner J. Miles Dale (“The Shape of Water,” “Sex/Life”), who also serves as co-showrunner, and Gary Ungar. Regina Corrado co-executive produces.