‘Under the Dome’ premiere: How far is CBS (and the producers) looking ahead?

Are you ready for one of the most-ambitious drama series to enter the ring? We hope so. CBS has quite a bit of stock put into the idea of a show like “Under the Dome” kicking butt and taking names for a few reasons: It has the name Stephen King attached to it, has a great cast including “Pan Am’s” Mike Vogel and Dean Norris from “Breaking Bad,” and it also has a time-slot where it will not be forced to compete against much except for ABC’s “Mistresses,” and that is hardly the same sort of show.

So while CBS is hesitant to promote the show at the moment as anything other than an event, producers are making it somewhat clear that if the chips fall in the right spots, they would like to do quite a bit more of the show in the future. In chatting with TV Guide in a new interview executive producer Brian K. Vaughn had this to say:

“We will learn a great deal about the dome by the end of the season, but maybe not all of the answers … Lost succeeded because people cared about those characters so deeply. The mythology is sort of an added bonus.”

One other thing that you should expect to see here? Some massive changes from the book. While “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” have been able to stay loyal in some ways, they’ve also had a lot more material to work from. Expect to see this show start at least somewhat similar to the books, but diverge even beyond what “The Walking Dead” does, given that there is potential for this story to continue long after the book ends.

Are you planning to check out “Under the Dome” tonight, and do you think that CBS has themselves a hit? If you do want to read some more news via Dean Norris, our suggestion is to head on over to the link here.

Photo: CBS