“The film was the short story, the series is the novel.” Robert Rodriquez
That quote from Robert Rodriquez is probably the best answer to the question, why make a TV show from the movie From Dusk till Dawn. The movie, a combination gangster-vampire-martial arts film, had a great cast and as horror movies go, was pretty entertaining. But I wouldn’t have thought it was ripe material for a TV series. And I should say, although making TV from movies is a practice going back almost since the dawn of television, its unusual when the TV series takes the movie plot and stretches it out over 10 to 13 episodes. It’s a much fuller retelling with more detail, more back story, more characters, in fact, more everything.
I was first clued in on this by a post on another blog promoting the show. The show runs on the El Rey Network, which I confess I’d never heard of. I did a little research and found out it was a new cable network started by Robert Rodriguez that intended to focus on the type of films that Robert Rodriquez liked: Grind house, Kung Fu, and cult horror flicks. I’m not sure if there is a market for Rodriquez’s personal preferences, but part of the uniqueness of the movie From Dusk till Dawn is that it combined all three, so who knows.
As for the From Dusk till Dawn TV show:
Having seen a couple of episodes already, I have to say the show is fulfilling its promises. This is a high quality production with a great cast and I love the gradual movement from crooks on the run to the supernatural elements, with a much deeper look at the peculiarities of Mayan Vampires.
So if you actually have El Rey on your local cable provider, I would recommend giving this show a look. They are having a back to back marathon of the show starting with the pilot on April 30th, so it’s not too late to catch up. Set your DVR and enjoy a Vampire show that pretty much has it all.
Mike Street Station 
G or Q? I prefer the G myself, but I’m biased
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He’s Mexican, so of course it’s with a Q
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I liked the movie. I was in my 40’s when I saw it. Still have nightmares.
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Well in that case, I wouldn’t recommend the TV show to you. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for further nightmares!
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Great show. Agreed on the cast. DJ Cotrona is essentially doing an imitation of Clooney’s take on Seth. I’d normally criticize an actor for that, but he does it so well (maybe even better than Clooney), that I’m really enjoying it. It’s also nice seeing Don Johnson and Robert Patrick on TV again.
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I confess I didn’t recognize Don Johnson at first. But he’s aged well, particularly compared to Melanie Griffith. So far, I would say all the cast is great, except for maybe Gary Busey. It almost seems as if his role is kind of tacked on. But I’m most pleased with Zane Holtz as Ritchie. Frankly he’s a far superior Richie than Quinton Tarentino, who isn’t much of an actor. Holtz brings the crazy that’s required for that role.
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The character Jake Busey plays is the one played by Tom Savini in the movie. Busey was okay in Starship Troopers, but he ain’t no Tom Savini. Also, the whole college professor “undercover” as a biker seems a bit lame to me.The crotch gun is still cool though.
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Fargo is another movie to tv series that’s supposed to be good. I’m not sure if we get that network, we have the no frills cable package. Trailer looks good.
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I’ve watched the first episode of Fargo (the other two are on the DVR) and I have to say I like it so far. I was particularly interested in seeing how British actor Martin Freeman (Sherlock, Frodo from The Hobbit) would handle that Minnesota accent.
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