Exactly what revelations should we be prepared for in Paramount’s new miniseries?
Paramount Network’s Waco now has a second trailer, which delves deep into the duality of perspective in this dramatization of the Waco siege.
Michael Shannon and Taylor Kitsch star in this six-part miniseries and basically rule the trailer. Shannon plays FBI negotiator Gary Noesner, who goes up against Kitsch’s David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians religious sect. The series is based on the real events of the storming of the Branch Davidians compound after a siege that lasted over 51 days. Watch the trailer below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyJMdoHaHyM
Initially billed as a dual effort with Weinstein Television — something that would have once raised any project’s profile in a relatively respectable way —Waco made the news last month when Paramount Network announced that the removal of Harvey Weinstein’s name from all future projects, although credit towards a new incarnation of The Weinstein Company had been implied at the time. Paramount has since rescinded all trace of Weinstein from its promotional campaign, company and all. As most recently reported by Variety, TWC is now looking to sell Paddington 2 before a bankruptcy filing.
As for Waco itself, I’m willing to concede that it is probably impossible to put forth a completely balanced perspective in a project like this, especially in trailer form. But Waco certainly has a lot to unpack, and by virtue of covering a topic so prone to sensationalism, morality becomes a tricky balancing act. Will this show humanize incorrect aspects of the case in its efforts at dramatization? That’s a pressing question that should stick with every viewer now that we’re closer to a premiere date.
One thing is for sure, Waco will primarily be an actor’s piece. While Shannon’s Noesner is level-headed and intensely quiet, Kitsch sounds terrifying as Koresh, further securing the switch in his acting brand. Over the years, Kitsch has slowly transitioned from being Tim Riggins and one of the guys in The Covenant to landing parts in HBO’s The Normal Heart and the second season of True Detective. Then there’s Shannon, who’s remarkable in just about anything.
Waco will air on Paramount Network beginning January 24, 2018.
Related Topics: Waco
