The Chronicle is an American science fiction comedy television series starring Chad Willett that was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel from July 14, 2001, to March 22, 2002. The series is based on the News from the Edge series of novels (for example, Vampires from Vermont) by Mark Sumner, a St. Louis–based author. The series was originally sold to NBC, which shot the pilot, but later found a home on Sci-Fi Channel. The original creative producers who brought the series to television were German Michael Torres and Trevor Taylor.
Contents
Premise
The show centers on a group of journalists at a tabloid newspaper, The Chronicle, and the contradictions that transpire when they realize that the various monsters, aliens, and mutants turn out to be real.
Cast
Main
Chad Willett as Tucker Burns
Rena Sofer as Grace Hall
Reno Wilson as Wes Freewald
Jon Polito as Donald Stern
Recurring
Curtis Armstrong as Sal the Pig-Boy
Sharon Sachs as Vera
Elaine Hendrix as Kristen Martin
Octavia Spencer as Ruby
April Bolds as Chronicle Staff Writer
Production
Series creator Silvio Horta adapted the book series News from the Edge by Mark Sumner, whose concept was that every outlandish picture or story in a tabloid is real. Horta stated his intention was to make a more fun, less dour version of The X-Files.
The series was initially developed for NBC as a half-hour comedy, but they passed on the produced pilot. The project was then picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel, where it was expanded to an hour-long comedic monster of the week format, similar in tone to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.