# From Dusk till Dawn: The Series

From Dusk till Dawn: The Series is an American horror television series developed by Robert Rodriguez. It forms part of the franchise of film, direct-to-video, and comics of From Dusk till Dawn, expanding on the chronicles of the Gecko Brothers, Seth and Richie, the Fuller family, and Santanico Pandemonium. The series adds to the tone of the film, with new characters and backstories, while expanding the snake creatures' Mesoamerican mythology. The series also references the Popol Vuh, drawing on its rich, mythological history and, in particular, on the legend of the Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué to add greater depth to the backstories and to fully flesh out the characters of the show's protagonists.
The series premiered on March 11, 2014, on Rodriguez's newly launched El Rey Network. Outside the United States and Latin America, the series is marketed as a Netflix original but was removed in November 2022. It was produced by FactoryMade Ventures in association with Miramax and executive produced by Rodriguez.
The third season aired from September 6 to November 1, 2016. While the series was never officially announced as cancelled, Deadline Hollywood reported that the actors were released from their contracts on October 31.

## Plot

In this supernatural crime series, Seth Gecko and his violent, unpredictable brother, Richard "Richie" Gecko, are wanted by the FBI and Texas Ranger Freddie Gonzalez after a bank robbery left several people, including policemen and Gonzalez's mentor Texas Ranger Earl McGraw, dead. Heading for the Mexico border pursued by Gonzalez, the Geckos encounter former minister Jacob Fuller and his family, whom they take hostage by commandeering the Fullers' RV. Drug lord Don Carlos reroutes them to a strip club populated by snakelike people that all must fight for food to survive until dawn.

## Cast and characters
### Main cast

| Actor | Character | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Actor | Character | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| D. J. Cotrona | Seth Gecko | Main | Main | Main |
| Zane Holtz | Richie Gecko | Main | Main | Main |
| Jesse Garcia | Ranger Ferdinand "Freddie" Gonzalez | Main | Main | Main |
| Eiza González | Santanico Pandemonium / Kisa | Main | Main | Main |
| Madison Davenport | Kate Fuller / Amaru | Main | Main | Main |
| Brandon Soo Hoo | Scott Fuller | Main | Main | Main |
| Robert Patrick | Jacob Fuller | Main | | |
| Wilmer Valderrama | Carlos Madrigal | Main | Main | Main |
| Jake Busey | Aidan "Sex Machine" Tanner | Recurring | Main | Main |
| Esai Morales | Lord Amancio Malvado | | Main | |
| Danny Trejo | The Regulator | | Main | |
| Don Johnson/Jesse Johnson | Ranger Earl McGraw | Main | Guest | |

### Recurring cast

| Actor | Character | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Actor | Character | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jamie Tisdale | Margaret Gonzalez | Recurring | Recurring | Recurring |
| Manuel Garcia-Rulfo | Narciso Menendez | Recurring | Recurring | |
| Brandon Smith | Captain Chance Holbrook | Recurring | Recurring | |
| Samantha Esteban | Monica Garza | Recurring | | |
| Briana Evigan | Sonja Lam | | Recurring | |
| Patrick Davis | Rafa Infante | | Recurring | |
| Alicia Sanz | Paloma Gutierrez | | Recurring | |
| Demi Lovato | Maia | | Recurring | |
| Jeff Fahey | Uncle Eddie Cruickshank | | Recurring | |
| Emily Rios | Ximena Vasconcelos | | Recurring | Recurring |
| Ana de la Reguera | Lord Venganza Verdugo | | | Recurring |
| Maurice Compte | Brasa | | | Recurring |
| Marko Zaror | Zolo | | | Recurring |
| Tom Savini | Burt | | | Recurring |
| Nicky Whelan | Dr. Dakota Block | | | Recurring |

### Guest stars
## Production

From Dusk till Dawn is the first scripted original series on Robert Rodriguez's El Rey network. Series creator and showrunner Rodriguez, who also directed the pilot and other episodes, stated the original film is "one of the favorite movies that I did in the past with Quentin Tarantino and one that people still ask us about today. There was so much I wanted to explore in that movie that I didn't get to. And I delved a little deeper into Mesoamerican mythologies and Aztec and Mayan mythologies and where a vampire culture could have existed back then and found fascinating stuff".

## International broadcast

In Australia, the series premiered on SBS 2 on July 1, 2014.
In the UK, the series has been broadcast on Spike since January 4, 2016, as From Dusk Till Dawn.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | March 11, 2014 (2014-3-11) | May 20, 2014 (2014-5-20) |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | August 25, 2015 (2015-8-25) | October 27, 2015 (2015-10-27) |
| 3 | 10 | 10 | September 6, 2016 (2016-09-06) | November 1, 2016 (2016-11-01) |

## Reception

From Dusk till Dawn has received mostly favorable reviews. Review aggregator site Metacritic has given the first season a "generally favorable" score of 61 out of 100, based on nine critics.
On another review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, the season holds a 75% rating with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10, based on 16 reviews. It was picked #1 on Entertainment Weekly's Must list and as one of the Hottest New Fiction Shows by The Hollywood Reporter.

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Outcome |
| 2015 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best TV Supporting Actor | Zane Holtz | Nominated |
| 2015 | Saturn Award | Best Limited Run Television Series | From Dusk Till Dawn | Nominated |

## Music
### Season 1 soundtrack

The soundtrack for season 1, named From Dusk Till Dawn, Season 1 (Music from the Original Series), was released on May 5, 2015, through Chingon Music. The album features music by Robert Rodriguez's band Chingon (tracks 1–6) and series composer Carl Thiel (tracks 7–20).

### Season 3 soundtrack

The third ending season song called "Monsters" is written and song by actress Madison Davenport.