Remember back in June when Aaron tweeted that he’s got a new tv show that’s filming on the old BSG sound stages? It has been listed on IMDb so I guess the cat is out of the bag :)
Aaron will be playing TONY DARROW in the new A&E television series THE RETURNED (IMDb / Wikipedia). Carlton Cuse (LOST, BATES MOTEL) wrote the first episode, and he and Raelle Tucker (TRUE BLOOD) will write and executive produce the series, a co-production between A&E Studios and FremantleMedia North America. The first season will consist of 10 episodes. Some of Aaron’s co-stars on THE RETURNED are Mark Pellegrino, Jeremy Sisto, Kevin Alejandro and Michelle Forbes.
THE RETURNED is the English language adaptation of the French television series LES REVENANTS (IMDb / Wikipedia / Official Website).
LES REVENANTS is available to watch on Netflix and DVD (USA, Canada, UK). So if you have the chance I recommend watching it. It does have subtitles which I thought would annoy me, but the show really is that great that you totally forget that you’re reading them.
Synopsis: THE RETURNED focuses on a small town that is turned upside down when several local people, who have been long presumed dead suddenly reappear, bringing with them both positive and detrimental consequences. As families are reunited, the lives of those who were left behind are challenged on a physical and emotional level. Interpersonal relationships are examined with intrigue and depth as strange phenomena begin to occur.
In case you’re having a feeling of deja vu … there is already a tv show that has aired on ABC called RESURRECTION that has a similar premise.
RESURRECTION (the ABC tv show, starring Omar Epps) is an adaptation of The Returned (a novel by Jason Motts). LES REVENANTS (the French tv show) is an adaptation of ‘They Came Back’ (a French movie). THE RETURNED (the A&E tv show that Aaron will be in) is the English language adaptation of LES REVENANTS.
For those of you familiar with LES REVENANTS, Aaron’s character in that was Toni, who was the owner/bartender of The Lake Pub and the brother of Serge, the serial killer.
Just for fun I’ve made a comparison chart of the cast from both series. The character descriptions are from LES REVENANTS.
| THE RETURNED | LES REVENANTS | |
|---|---|---|
 Mark PellegrinoJACK WINSHIP |  Frédéric PierrotJEROME | > The death of his daughter, Camille, in the coach accident turned Jerome's quite life upside-down. His marriage with Claire was shattered and his relationship with his other daughter, Lena, is nonexistent. Jerome has become a disenchanted, cynical man. But seeing Camille again gives him a chance to start over. Can he still save what bent over backwards to destroy? > A haunted man, Jérôme saw his life turned upside down when his daughter Camille died in the bus accident. His marriage to Claire has fallen apart, and he has only a strained relationship with his other daughter, Léna. Will Camille's return give him a second chance with his family? |
 Tandi WrightCLAIRE WINSHIP |  Anne ConsignyCLAIRE | > Devastated by the death of her daughter, Camille, powerless over her husband Jerome's outrageous behaviour, Clair found unexpected solace in Pierre, head of the Outreach support group. Their strong, ambiguous relationship is both spiritual and sentimental, but it seriously complicates the ties among the Ségurets when Camille resurfaces and offers them a chance to rebuild their family. > Faced with the devastation of her daughter Camille's death and the uncontrollable behavior of her husband, Jérôme, Claire turned to Pierre for solace and support. Their intense connection complicates matters for the family when Camille returns. |
 India EnnengaCAMILLE WINSHIP |  Yara PilartzCAMILLE | > The day Camille died in a coach accident, her twin sister Lena made a terrible mistake that has haunted her ever since. Back from the dead three years later, Camille finds her family has totally changed: her parents' marriage is shattered to pieces and her sister Lena has built up a hard shell to hide her scars. Camille's return could be just what the family needs to rekindle their healthy family bonds. > Waking up atop a mountain, with no memory of her fatal school-trip bus accident, Camille makes the long walk home and discovers to her horror that four years have passed. She must try to come to terms with her own fate and the sudden rift between her and her sister. |
 Sophie LoweLENA WINSHIP |  Jenna ThiamLENA | > The day her twin sister, Camille, died in the coach accident, Lena made a mistake that has been haunting her ever since. Without the extraordinary bonds she always had with her sister and forced to cope with violent arguments with her parents, Lena developed a hard shell to hide her wounds. But seeing Camille again shatters her protective shield, exposing her painful scars. Lena's reaction to her twin's return from the dead is scathed with rage. Camille will have to figure out why her beloved sister now rejects her so vehemently. > Lena feels guilt in the loss of her sister four years ago. Her relationship is now strained with her father and she numbs herself by going to the Lake Pub everyday. When Camille returns, she must address her feelings of guilt and anger head on. |
 Jeremy SistoPETER LATTIMORE |  Jean-François SivadierPIERRE | > Like many "born again" Christians who find redemption from a tumultuous past by focusing whole heartedly on religion, Pierre is a fanatic. As the head of the Outreach support group, he is a firm believer in the coming of a New World and the arrival of these people back from the dead only bolsters his conviction. But things that are swept under the carpet eventually surface and little by little Pierre's true nature reveals itself. > A religious man and community leader, Pierre believes his prayers have been answered when he discovers that Camille and the others have returned. He sees the events as signs of an imminent new world. |
 Kevin AlejandroSHERIFF TOMMY SOLANO |  Samir GuesmiTHOMAS | > Thomas, the headstrong, authoritarian captain of police, is driven by a vital need to control things. He thought he held the reins in his city and his relationship with Adele, until the people came back from the dead, shattering his certainties and daily life. Overwhelmed by these events, and feeling threatened by Simon's return, Thomas has a brutal and unexpected reaction. > A dedicated police captain, Thomas thought his life was stable: He had a successful career, a loving relationship with Adèle and her daughter Chloe, and a pretty good grasp of what went on in his small town. But the return of Simon and the others puts all of that into question. |
 Mary Elizabeth WinsteadROWAN BLACKSHAW |  Clotilde HesmeADELE | > Simon's death, right before their wedding, and just after Adele announced she was pregnant, was devastating for her. She sunk into depression. In time, with the birth of her daughter Chloe and Thomas' loving support, Adele managed to pull her self together. Although she remains fragile, she is filled with the desire to live. Simon's return casts a shadow of doubt over everything. > Once engaged to marry Simon, Adèle is shaken to the core when she sees her dead fiancé standing outside her front door. Her stable home life with Thomas and daughter Chloe—not to mention her own peace of mind—are threatened by his return. |
 Mat VairoSIMON MORAN |  Pierre PerrierSIMON | > Just a few hours before he was to wed Adele, Simon suffered a rather mysterious death. Back now, after seven years, he discovers, brokenhearted, that Adele started a new chapter in her life with the captain of police, Thomas. Simon wants to win back the love of his one and only. But to do this, he must figure out what happened on the day he died. > What exactly happened to Simon, the groom and expectant father who died on the eve of his wedding to Adèle? He's as determined to discover how he died as he is to win back the woman he loves—who has since moved on with police officer Thomas. |
 Dakota GuppyCHLOE BLACKSHAW |  Brune MartinCHLOE | > Daughter of Adele and Simon. |
 Agnes BrucknerNIKKI BANKS |  Alix PoissonLAURE | > Police officer during the famous serial killings by "The Cannibal", Laure was unable to protect Julie, her former companion, from her terrible fate. With the arrival of these people back from the dead, she'll have the chance to make good and rekindle her relationship with Julie. But it's tricky business to woo a lover when the whole town's safety is in your hands. This is the challenge Laure must face. > Police officer Laure is on the case when the returned start appearing. She is a headstrong woman with a dogmatic view of her job. Her “black and white” reality is challenged when strange events start happening in town. |
 Sandrine HoltDR. JULIE HAN |  Céline SalletteJULIE | > Attacked and maimed by the serial killer known as "The Cannibal", the young nurse named Julie as been in some sort of limbo ever since, living in between two worlds, never really feeling alive. But when she meets Victor, an odd, nervous little boy, it's like an electric shock. Now that the rules governing the world order have changed, will this young woman find her peace a t last? > An introverted nurse, whose own near death experience has scarred her and has prevented her from forming real connections, finds herself suddenly becoming caretaker to a strange and silent lost little boy, whom she calls Victor. |
 Dylan KingwellVICTOR |  Swann NambotinVICTOR | > When Victor came to town, he was lost and disorientated, a loner. Julie gives him something to hang onto, and he won't want to let go. But what lurks behind his innocent appearance? Is Victor a lost soul longing for protection or a terrible threat to those who take him under their wing? To know the truth, Julie will have to unravel the story of this mysterious child's past. > Who is Victor? When he suddenly appears and follows Julie home, he won't even tell her his name, instead accepting the one she gives him. Although he puts his trust completely in Julie, it's clear from the start that he has suffered and carries some terrible secret. |
 Leah GibsonLUCY MCCABE |  Ana GirardotLUCY | > The angelic looking girl came to town a year before the strange happenings started and landed a job as a waitress at the Lake Pub. We don't know anything about her, aside from the fact that beyond and sort of sexual attraction, men feel a strong sense of comfort in her presence. |
 Aaron DouglasTONY DARROW |  Grégor GadeboisTONI | > Serge's brother, Toni, has been living with the weight of a dark secret on his shoulders. The owner of the Lake Pub, he tries to live a normal life and to keep the painful memories of a tragic past stuffed away. Serge's return reopens the deepest wounds and Toni must now face the enemy he fears most: his own inner demons. > Serge's brother has created a "normal" life for himself as the manager of the Lake Pub, but behind his façade of respectability, he is carrying the burden of his dark past. Hoping to put his painful past behind him, Toni's wounds are reopened upon Serge's return. |
 Rhys WardADAM DARROW/strong> * |  Guillaume GouixSERGE | > For months, Serge terrorised the whole town with his barbaric crimes, earning him the nickname of "The Cannibal". Mysteriously assassinated, he disappeared before his identity was known. When he comes back, Serge will have to deal with his killer instincts, which are still strong but more bothersome than in the past. And he will discover the man who put him out of commission. > Known as "the Cannibal," Serge once terrorized the town with a series of savage murders and attacks. He himself was murdered under mysterious circumstances; upon his return, he reverts to his violent ways and begins killing again. |
 Carl LumblyPASTOR LEON WRIGHT |  Jérôme KircherFATHER PERE JEAN-FRANCOIS | > The parish priest. |
 Michelle ForbesHELEN GODDARD ** |  Laetitia de FombelleMADAME VIVIANE COSTA | > Died thirty years ago, though she refuses to say how. |
** NOTE: I’m not 100% sure if Michelle Forbes’ character is the equivalent of Madame Viviane Costa. But her character description that I found online (“Helen Goddard, a mysterious woman who is one of the returnees”) matches up with Madame Viviane Costa.