''Fear Itself'' is an American horror-

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

. It debuted on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

on June 5, 2008,NBC Lights Up Summer With A Burst Of Original Program Premieres As Part Of 'NBC'S All-American Summer'
/ref> but was pulled from the air after late July 2008, with five episodes remaining unaired by NBC. On March 13, 2009, it was confirmed that the series had been canceled and would not return to NBC.

Production and development

Its title is derived from the famous

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

quote, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." The anthology was born out of ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, C ...

'' and shares several of the same creative elements. It features self-contained horror/thriller stories directed by the biggest horror directors working in features today, both shows were created by

Mick Garris Mick Garris (born December 4, 1951) is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, as well as making Stephen King adaptations. Early life Garris was born in Sant ...

, and both shows are produced by Industry Entertainment's Andrew Deane, Adam Goldworm and Ben Browning.

Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon is perh ...

, Brad Anderson,

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal ...

Ernest Dickerson Ernest Roscoe Dickerson (born June 25, 1951) is an American director, cinematographer, and screenwriter of film, television, and music videos. As a cinematographer, he is known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee ever since they were c ...

and

Rob Schmidt Rob Schmidt Barracano (born September 25, 1965) is an American filmmaker. His film credits include '' Wrong Turn'' and '' Crime and Punishment in Suburbia''. He also created a pilot called American Town for Twentieth Century Fox. He directed a ...

all directed at least one episode of each series. The series was filmed in the city of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta, Canada, with some additional filming taking place in the city of St. Albert and the town of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, Alberta. Guest stars included

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in ''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes fo ...

Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Satellite Award, five Teen Choice Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award a ...

Brandon Routh Brandon James Routh (; born October 9, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Superman in the 2006 film ''Superman Returns'', which garnered him international fame. In 2011, he played the titular character of the film '' Dylan Dog: Dead of Ni ...

Briana Evigan Briana Barbara-Jane Evigan is an American actress and dancer best known for her roles in the ''Step Up'' series and for her scream queen roles in numerous horror films. Born in Los Angeles, Evigan is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and his ...

, Jesse Plemons,

Elisabeth Moss Elisabeth Singleton Moss (born July 24, 1982) is an American actor. She is known for her work in several television dramas, earning such accolades as two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, which led ''Vulture'' to name her the ...

, and

Cory Monteith Cory Allan Michael Monteith (; May 11, 1982 July 13, 2013) was a Canadian actor and musician who played Finn Hudson on the Fox television series ''Glee''. As an actor based in British Columbia, Monteith had minor roles on television series before ...

. The song in the opening credits is titled "

Lie Lie Lie "Lie Lie Lie" is a song by Serj Tankian. The song was released as a single from his debut solo album ''Elect the Dead''. The music video is directed by Martha Colburn.System of a Down System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...

frontman

Serj Tankian Serj Tankian (born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American singer, musician, songwriter, political activist and entrepreneur. He is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, keyboardist, and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal ...

, from his first solo album ''

Elect the Dead ''Elect the Dead'' is the debut album by rock musician Serj Tankian, lead singer and founding member of Armenian-American metal band System of a Down. It was released on October 22, 2007. Alongside Tankian appears Armenian-American coloratura A ...

''.

Broadcast

The show aired Thursday nights at 10/9c. It was put on hiatus for the duration of the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the promise of a return once the event was over, but no further episodes were aired. While NBC failed to comment on the fate of the series once the Olympics ended, its time-slot was thereafter filled with re-runs of other NBC shows, and "Fear Itself" did not appear on the NBC Fall 2008 schedule. In the UK, the show started airing on 5* from Friday 4 May 2012. In Australia, the show commenced screening in August 2012 on the FX channel, available on the

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

platform.

Home media

The complete series was released on DVD on September 15, 2009.

Episodes

The episodes are run in a different order on the DVD and within online streaming sites.

References

External links

*
Fear Itself Directors, Writers and Stars Announced
{{Masters of Horror 2008 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2000s American horror television series 2000s American anthology television series American horror fiction television series NBC original programming Television shows filmed in Edmonton Television series by Lionsgate Television English-language television shows Horror anthologies