The pilot panel for the CW’s forthcoming Containment kept the focus on the characters and their evolution through the series as they—presumably—begin to bleed from their eyes and die horribly.
The pilot itself is like a mix between The Stand and Under The Dome (hail to the King), dropping us into an ungodly hell of people rioting in the streets while cops in riot gear attempt to gain some semblance of control over the situation. We then smash cut back to day-one, tracking patient zero as he lays the seeds of destruction across the greater Atlanta metro area. We’re introduced to a school teacher hosting a field trip to a hospital, a pregnant teen on the verge of leaving town with her baby daddy, a police Major who’s Dr. girlfriend has commitment issues, a CDC wonk and enough doctors to surely sort this whole thing out.
Claudia Black:
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Hanna Mangan Lawrence:
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Christina Marie Moses:
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George Young:
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Chris Wood:
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Kristen Gutoskie:
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Trevor St. John:
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Julie Plec:
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The show is executive produced The Originals’ Julie Plec, and Containment has poached more than a few actors for their cast, including Claudia Black (Farscape), who referred to her CDC figurehead as a “bad news Barbie in a lonely world.”
“This is not a woman who can take risks,” Black said. “She has to make decisions that please no one. It’s a controversial line she’s walking.”
Black’s sentiments were echoed throughout the cast and crew, with Plec promising a character-based drama that just so happens to be set in a hot zone. “The whole idea of the show is a day in the life of anyone…they’re you. Watching that unravel is terrifying.”
The focus on reality apparently has roots in the original Belgium production (Cordon) on which this series is based. “Belgium is now one of the most prepared cities in the world because of the original show,” Claudia Black noted. “You all know what to do in the event of a zombie apocalypse, now we’ll all know how to deal with a virus.”
And if the pilot is any indication, Containment will try to raise the stakes of network television violence in the same vein as The Walking Dead. “I’ve stuck scissors in eye sockets,” Plec said of her other shows, hinting that the ability to splash a little red across the screen was contingent on her involvement.
We’ll see how bad things can get when Containment premieres on April 19th. And be sure to check out all of Fandom’s WonderCon coverage here.
