Inspired by the Swedish novel and film of the same name, Showtime’s Let the right one in may deliver all the gory suspense of a vampire drama, but at its core, the 10-episode series is about a father desperately trying to protect his daughter by any means necessary.
The series follows Mark (Demián Bichiro) and his young daughter Eleanor (Madison Taylor Baez), who are on the run to hide a horrifying secret – after contracting a “crazy virus”, Eleanor has become a vampire, who needs blood to live and never physically gets older than 12 years old.
While trying to keep Eleanor’s secret a secret from everyone they come in contact with, Mark desperately tries to keep his daughter’s humanity intact until they can find a cure.
And sticking to her humanity is the “main challenge” for Mark, Bichir . told Collider in a recent interview.
When asked if it was difficult for his character to watch his daughter potentially become immortal and lose what makes her human, the actor said:
“Absolutely. That’s the biggest challenge for my character. As parents, we are willing and willing to do anything for our family. For our children, we are ready to cross any line, as dark as it can be. It’s about the health of your children. Once you get infected with a crazy virus, everything is turned upside down. We, as humanity, know that very, very well these days. We know what that is like. There are many things that go through the mind of my character is going, and one of them is fear.”
“It’s the fear of leaving her alone in this world. If she stays a vampire, she’ll live forever, and I’ll eventually die, and then she’ll be alone, which is never cool. The human aspect is crucial That is something that Mark tries to avoid at all costs, saying, “I have to keep you human. You are not a monster and you will not become a monster. Not on my watch.” There are some lines he will cross so she doesn’t. That’s how you protect your kids, or at least that’s how we think we protect them.’
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From the start of the series, it’s clear how fiercely Mark is committed to keeping Eleanor safe. In the trailer, he mentions that he had to kill several times to keep her alive; in the first episode, Mark kills someone closer to him than he realizes.
Bichir says that murder, along with almost every other element that viewers see on screen, is related to later events in the series.
“I don’t want to spoil anything, but hey, everything you see will be an important element that will evolve later in the series, whether it’s in the next scene, or the next episode, or in the next 17 seasons. That’s why I admire what [showrunner Andrew Hinderaker] did with designing the foundation of this series and the path we are taking. It’s just genius how he [has] created all these subplots, multiple layers and different characters,” he said.
“Every time a new character appears, it’s an important element to tell the rest of the story. There’s nothing for free. Nothing’s just a green light. There’s no such thing. Every time there’s a green light “It’s there for a reason. If you see a yellow light, it’s there for a reason.”
And if you see a red light? Bichir says “buckle up.”
Let the right one in airs Sunday nights on Showtime.