If you're a fan of all things sci-fi and are looking for a new TV series to watch in the new year, then you should probably check out Freeform's Beyond. The show follows a young man named Holden who wakes up from a coma after 12 years and discovers he possesses powerful supernatural abilities. While chatting with Bustle in October, star Burkely Duffield teased some spoilers for Beyond, which should definitely attract anyone who loves a supernatural series.
"Holden wakes up with these abilities, these superhuman powers," Duffield explains. "With these new powers comes this antagonistic organization. They want to use Holden and use these powers that he has to access another realm where his powers sort of generated themselves from."
Soon after Holden realizes he possesses powers and that some dangerous people are after him, Beyond takes a spookier turn. "Without giving anything away, we have some very cool, dark antagonistic characters, which is one of the parts I love about our show," Duffield says. "[There are] really cool, creepy, dark characters ... I really think audiences are going to be fairly creeped out and sort of scared by how dark our show can get."
Well, if it can get as dark (or possibly even darker) than fellow Freeform show Pretty Little Liars, viewers will probably welcome Beyond with open arms.
Seeing as the drama has a supernatural and sci-fi vibe, one might get the sense that extraterrestrials have something to do with whatever lies at the center of it, but Duffield assures me that aliens are not part of Beyond.
"[There are] no aliens, there’s really no other worldly presence," he reveals. Though, the 24-year-old actor says there is definitely more going on than first meets the eye. "It comes to do with the immediate world that we live and survive in as people and Holden wakes up to," he explains. He even says there's "this other worldly realm" the audience can look forward to. "It’s not really aliens, it’s another sort of dimension."
That said, Duffield wants people to know that it's not your typical sci-fi series, because there are so many other elements within it. "I think Beyond in itself has a lot of cool elements that sort of drive the show," he says. "We’ve got dramatic aspects between characters. There’s a lot of relationships Holden finds himself bonding and amazing [protagonist] relationships with friends and girls alike, as well as enemies. Then, we have this amazing supernatural element."
Regarding the relationship with girls Duffield mentions, viewers will come in contact with Willa (Dilan Gwyn, above), who has a strong connection to Holden. "Willa is this mysterious girl Holden meets and she seems to know a lot more about Holden then he does when he first wakes up," he teases. "It’s an interesting relationship, as you see right off the bat." Duffield also says "there seems to be a bit of a connection" between them, which sure sounds like romance is in the air.
Another aspect Duffield believes viewers are going to enjoy is how relatable Holden is as a person. They will first meet him as a teenage boy and then fast forward the 12 years during his coma and see Holden as an adult man; meaning that while may look like an adult, he really is still a young boy at heart. As Duffield explains,
"Holden is a very well-rounded, cool character and has a lot of different traits. One of the fun parts of portraying him is having been in a coma for 12 years, he’s a 13-year-old trapped in a 25-year-old’s body that now gets to experience the world and you’re experiencing all of Holden’s firsts with him. You see his first time at a party, his first kiss, his first love, his first time telling a real lie to his parents."
It sure sounds like it's catering to all audiences, but especially those who love dark supernatural material. Be sure to tune into Freeform Monday, Jan. 2, when Beyond debuts with a two-hour series premiere at 9 p.m. EST.
