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You know how you've always wanted a grindhouse horror TV show about cars that run on human blood? Well, you're in luck because Blood Drive is coming to a small screen near you soon. Starring Spanish actress Christina Ochoa and Alan Ritchson (you might recognise him from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), it's basically Mad Max but instead of everyone fighting over the remaining oil, they just built cars that run on blood instead. Here's 5 things you need to know about this new TV series before it hits.
1. It's basically a twisted road trip
Police officer Arthur Bailey (Alan Ritchson) forced to partner with the deadly Grace D’Argento (Christina Ochoa) for a warped car race, where vehicles run on human blood instead of petrol. They must traverse an apocalyptic landscape to win one million dollars, and stop their heads exploding from nanotechnology implanted in their necks. “Our idea was to take this boy scout and see how far we can change him,” creator and co-executive producer James Roland tells Red Alert. “A femme fatale and a good-boy cop are really interesting for one episode. You then have to start digging into that and start shaping it into something else.”
2. It's a bit racy
In order to over ride the explosive technology, Arthur and Grace must produce extreme amounts of adrenaline. Cue sex in the backseat of a speeding car as it – and Arthur–barreltowardsaclimacticfinish. “We wanted to get everything out of the way,” says Roland. “There’s so many stories where the couple is about ‘will they or won’t they?’ So, for us, it was like, ‘Let’s do the opposite. Let’s have them screw in the most-crazed place possible in the pilot and take sex off the table.’”
3. There will be LOTS of blood
Blood Drive’s opening sequence sees Grace spearing a guy’s family jewels, and feeding him to her car. Cheerleaders get hacked up. A seedy diner minces up patrons for hamburger meat. In other words, this series delivers plenty of gore. “A lot of the violence we have in the show leans towards that ‘Holy shit. I can’t believe that happened,’ funny kind of stuff,” Roland says. “Any deaths with a main character, we toned down. We pulled back from the gore completely. No entrails or details – just a little blood splatter.”
4. It's grindhouse for TV
Roland cites Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature, Planet Terror and Death Proof, as inspiration for Blood Drive’s grindhouse element. However, don’t expect any nostalgic fake cigarette burns or the film burning out in the middle of a sex scene. “We tried to tap into the spirit of what grindhouse films were,” Roland explains. “That includes moving as fast as you can and being as brash as you can. No boring parts. Whenever you go to do a scene you think you’ve seen before, how can you spin it? How can you constantly surprise the audience?”
5. The road rage could go on
If Blood Drive hits the pavement for additional adventures, subsequent seasons will be treated like movie sequels. “Characters and story elements will cross over from season to season,” Roland says. “What the season is about and what it feels like will be largely different. It’s going to be gory and just as entertaining, but in terms of the race, that’s going to drastically change. Each season will not be a race to another location.”
Blood Drive premieres on June 14, 2017 on Syfy in the US, with a UK air date yet to be confirmed.
This feature originally appeared in SFX magazine issue 288. For more horror news, features, and reviews, pick up a copy now or subscribe so you never miss an issue.
