''October Faction'' is an American

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series created by

Damian Kindler Damian Kindler (born May 31, 1968) is an Australian-Canadian screenwriter, television producer, director and showrunner. He has worked on a number of genre TV programs, including ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Sleepy Hollow'', ''Krypton'', and ''Amer ...

, based on the comic series of the same name by

Steve Niles Steve Niles (born June 21, 1965) is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as '' 30 Days of Night'', '' Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery'', '' Simon Dark'', ''Mystery Society'', '' Batman: Gotham County Line'', '' ...

and Damien Worm. It premiered on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on January 23, 2020. The series stars

Tamara Taylor Tamara Taylor (born September 27, 1970) is a Canadian actress. She appeared in the role of Dr. Camille Saroyan, head of the Forensic Division, in the forensic crime drama '' Bones''. She also appeared in season seven of '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L. ...

, J. C. MacKenzie, Aurora Dawson-Hunte, Gabriel Darku,

Wendy Crewson Wendy Jane Crewson (born May 9, 1956) is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film ''The Doctor''. Crewson has appeared in many Hollywood films, inc ...

Megan Follows Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows ( ; born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her role as Anne Shirley in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. From 2013 to 2017 ...

and

Stephen McHattie Stephen McHattie Smith (born February 3, 1947) is a Canadian actor. Since beginning his professional career in 1970, he has amassed over 200 film and television credits. He won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' ...

. In March 2020, the series was canceled after one season.

Synopsis

''October Faction'' follows the story of a monster-hunting couple, Fred and Deloris Allen, and their twin teenage children, Geoff and Viv. Following the death of Fred's father Samuel, the family decides to go back to their home town Barrington-on-Hudson, in New York, to arrange the funeral. Haunted with childhood memories of his brother's death and the incessant arguments with his parents over his inadequacy and his choice in women, Fred is repulsed by his childhood home. The children soon begin showing supernatural tendencies. During an impromptu séance Viv has visions of a creature with long hair chained to the seafloor, struggling to free itself. Her brother Geoff accidentally reveals a teacher's deepest, darkest secret about his wife in front of his classmates. Both are ridiculed by the popular cliques for being outsiders. Fred and Deloris are members of Presidio, a secret organization tasked to protect humanity from various breeds of monsters. They must hide their identities from the townsfolk and appear to live a normal life. This proves hard from the start as strange things begin to unfold in the sleepy little town.

Cast

Main

as Deloris Allen, a supernatural hunter who is part of a secret organization known as "Presidio" * J. C. MacKenzie as Fred Allen, Deloris' husband and a fellow Presidio supernatural hunter who came from a family of Presidio supernatural hunters *Aurora Dawson-Hunte as Viv Allen, Deloris and Fred's teenage daughter *Gabriel Darku as Geoff Allen, Deloris and Fred's openly gay teenage son and Viv's twin * Maxim Roy as Alice Harlow, a murderous warlock hunting the Allens after she caused the deaths of her own family and friends, Viv and Geoff's natural mother *

as Samuel Allen, Fred's father who is thought dead, but is a prisoner of Presidio *

as Maggie Allen, Fred's mother and a retired Presidio archivist *

as Edith Mooreland, the head of Presidio

Recurring

*Anwen O'Driscoll as Cathy MacDonald, Viv's potential friend who betrays her trust first chance she gets *

Nicola Correia-Damude Nicola Correia-Damude (born 21 June 1981) is a Canadian actress based in Toronto. Her credits include ''The Strain'' (2015), ''Shadowhunters'' (2016–2019), '' Burden of Truth'' (2018–2021), '' The Boys'' (2019–2022), ''Coroner'' (2019–20 ...

as Gina Fernandez, the local sheriff of Barrington-on-Hudson and Deloris' friend * Sara Waisglass as Madison St. Claire, a bully to Viv and Cathy's former friend * Praneet Akilla as Phillip Mishra, a

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometime ...

jock and initially a bully to Geoff *

Michelle Nolden Michelle Nolden is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in numerous films and television shows including Murdoch Mysteries, '' ZOS: Zone of Separation'', ''Numb3rs'', ''Street Time'', '' Earth: Final Conflict'', ''The Time Traveler's Wife'', '' ...

as Hannah Mercer, a Presidio agent and Fred's mistress *

Dayo Ade Dayo Ade (born 1972) is a Canadian actor who is best known for his role as Bryant Lester Thomas "BLT" in the ''Degrassi'' television franchise, appearing in ''Degrassi Junior High'' (1987–89) and '' Degrassi High'' (1989–91). Ade has had nu ...

as Moshe, a werewolf who forms a grudging friendship with Fred and Deloris, and later with the Barrington sheriff department * Robin Dunne as Woody Markham, a deputy sheriff of Barrington-on-Hudson * Charles Vandervaart as young Fred * Taveeta Szymanowicz as young Deloris * Robert Bazzocchi as Steve Thompson, a student who died in a car wreck, but whose ghost can be seen by Geoff.

Episodes

Production

Development

On September 28, 2018, it was announced that

had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes.

Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...

Mina Shum Mina Shum (born 1966) is an independent Canadian filmmaker. She is a writer and director of award-winning feature films, numerous shorts and has created site specific installations and theatre. Her features, ''Double Happiness (film), Double Ha ...

, and

David Frazee David Frazee is a Canadian cinematographer and television director. He has earned numerous Gemini Award nominations. His work includes cinematography for ''Intelligence'', ''Da Vinci's Inquest ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' is a Canadian crime drama tel ...

are set to direct some episodes. The series was created by Damian Kindler who will also act as writer and executive producer. Additional executive producers are set to include James Thorpe,

, Thomas Walden, Eric Birnberg, George Strayton and Melissa Blake. Production companies involved with the series include High Park Entertainment and IDW Entertainment. On March 30, 2020, Netflix cancelled the series after one season.

Casting

Sometime after the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Tamara Taylor, J.C. MacKenzie, Aurora Burghart, Gabriel Darku, Wendy Crewson, Megan Follows and Stephen McHattie would star in the series. In October 2018, Maxim Roy was cast in a recurring role.

Filming

Filming for the first season took place on location in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

from September to December 2018.

Release

On January 8, 2020, Netflix released the official trailer for the series.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the series holds an approval rating of 29% with an average rating of 5.5/10, based on 7 reviews. Complaints were made about unfinished plotlines but some reviewers found the series quirky and entertaining, regretting its cancellation after one season.

References

External links

* * {{IDW Publishing 2020s American drama television series 2020 American television series debuts 2020 American television series endings 2020s American horror television series 2020s American science fiction television series 2020s American supernatural television series American action television series Dark fantasy television series American English-language television shows Netflix television dramas Serial drama television series American thriller television series Television shows based on American comics IDW Publishing adaptations Television series about dysfunctional families American television series about teenagers Cambridge, Ontario Television shows filmed in Toronto Television shows set in New York (state) Television series about witchcraft