From, the MGM Plus series about people trapped in a mysterious, fright-filled town, returns for season 3 on Sunday. It's hard to imagine the show, which counts grinning nocturnal monsters as just one of its scary layers, heightening the horrors. Still, according to star Harold Perrineau, that's what audiences are in for.
"You should prepare for a worse season 3," Perrineau, who plays Sheriff Boyd Stevens, told CNET. "The creepy children come back, the monsters, and then it gets worse. Yeah, you should prepare for worse."
From debuted in 2022 and follows different people in the same heart-pounding predicament. After witnessing an obstacle in the road, they enter an inescapable place with terrors lurking behind every forest tree and around every diner corner. At night, bloodthirsty beings taunt the residents, who also experience worms crawling under their skin, ghastly kids repeating unintelligible words, and nightmares they never wake up from.
Ahead of season 3, which premieres just in time for spooky season, CNET chatted with Perrineau about what's to come. His character is the well-respected leader of the motley crew that's trying to stay alive, unravel the mystery, and escape.
Though season 3 will find most of them with their feet still on scary soil, season 2's final scene seems to free a townsperson from the frightening realm. (Spoiler: The woman, Tabitha, appears to wake up in an ordinary hospital.) As a synopsis for the new season puts it, "In the wake of Season Two's epic cliffhanger, escape will become a tantalizing and very real possibility as the true nature of the town comes into focus, and the townspeople go on offense against the myriad horrors surrounding them."
In the below interview, edited for clarity, Perrineau talks the cliff-hanger, what he would do if he wound up in From's town, and what he didn't like about killing one of the show's sinister creatures. The series is executive-produced by creator John Griffin, showrunner Jeff Pinkner and director Jack Bender. Pinkner and Bender also worked on the TV show Lost, which featured Perrineau.
Q:
Between
creepy
children,
ominous
music
boxes
and
the
main
nocturnal
monsters,
season
2
was
scary.
Should
we
prepare
for
a
season
3
that's
just
as
terrifying?
Perrineau:
You
should
prepare
for
a
worse
season
3.
Yeah,
because
the
creepy
children
come
back,
the
monsters
--
and
then
it
gets
worse.
Yeah,
you
should
prepare
for
worse.
Season 3 is -- the nicest way to describe it is that season 3 is dark. It's dark. It's heavy. Not only are you scared about all the things that are coming, your heart gets filled with empathy for all the things that are about to go down. It's heavy.
My
favorite
moment
from
season
2
is,
of
course,
a
Boyd
scene.
It's
when
he's
surprisingly
able
to
kill
one
of
the
monsters.
I
wanted
to
know
what
you
thought
of
that
scene.
Perrineau:
I
was
super
surprised
that
that's
where
that
was
going.
...
When
I
read
it,
I
was
like,
"Oh,
wow,
it
died? Like
it
just
full
died?"
I
was
really,
really
surprised
about
that.
But
then,
of
course,
was
less
surprised
when
then
the
body
had
cicadas
and
we
couldn't
--
we
had
to
burn
it,
and
all
these
other
crazy
things
started
happening.
But
yeah,
I
thought
it
was
pretty
cool.
The only thing that's a bummer about that scene is that the actor, Jamie, is maybe the nicest man you have ever met in your entire life. ... Oddly, I didn't realize how many people were like, "Oh my god, I'm so sad. Smiley's dead." He's a monster, guys, [he had] to die.
The
season
2
finale
cliff-hanger
seemed
like
a
step
closer
to
some
clarity.
I
was
wondering:
Can
viewers
expect
some
of
their
burning
questions
about
the
town
to
be
answered
this
season?
Perrineau:
I'm
going
to
tell
you
just,
and
this
is
the
way
the
writer
will
say
it:
He
is
going
to
say,
"Absolutely,
yes,
you're
fully
going
to
get
answers
to
questions.
The
question
after
you
get
the
answer
is,
'Now
what?'"
And
that's
the
trick
of
the
whole
thing,
right?
Like,
oh
yeah,
he'll
answer
the
questions,
but
now
what
are
you
gonna
do?
And
so
that's
the
thing
that's
--
I
think
is
really
cool
about
the
show,
that
it's
not
a
show
really
about
questions,
it's
not
a
show
really
about
horrors,
it's
a
show
about
people.
It's
a
show
about
what
do
you
do
when
you're
in
a
situation
that
you
have
no
control
over?
And
so,
you
find
the
answer,
but
now,
what
do
you
do?
And
that's
the
thing
that's
really
compelling
about
playing
all
these
characters
and
being
in
From,
because
I
think
John
Griffin
has
really
put
together
a
group
of
really
interesting
characters
that
have
to
go
through
this
trauma
together.
I
love
that
we
get
to
spend
so
much
time
with
the
characters
as
they
navigate
that
terrible,
traumatizing
reality.
Do
you
ever
think
about
what
you
personally
would
do
if
you
were
in
a
situation
like
that?
Perrineau:
You
mean,
after
I
stopped
crying?
Sure,
I
think
about
it
all
the
time.
You
know,
one
of
the
things
that
was
really
helpful
for
me
is
actually
having
kids.
Me
having
kids,
and
my
"protect"
energy,
is
what
I
bring
to
Boyd.
And
so
I
imagine
that
in
a
circumstance
anywhere
like
that,
that
my
protect
person
would
jump
up
and,
just
like
Boyd,
will
relentlessly
try
to
figure
out
a
way
to
save
his
family
or
friends,
people
that
he
loves,
from
this
horrible
situation.
I
hope
that
I
would
do
that
after
I
stopped
crying.
What
have
you
enjoyed
the
most
about
playing
Boyd
over
these
three
seasons?
Perrineau:
Oh,
that's
not
a
terribly
hard
thing
to
do.
It's
really
fun
to
play
the
hero,
even
if
he's
a
hero
who
makes
questionable
choices,
do
you
know
what
I
mean?
I
like
this
idea
of
somebody
who,
even
if
you
don't
love
all
his
choices,
he's
actually
trying
to
do
something
good.
I
actually
like
that.
I'm
not
a
big
fan
of
antiheroes,
you
know
what
I
mean?
You
know,
'They're
a
secret
serial
killer,
but
they're
serial
killing
for
good.'
I'm
not
a
big
fan
of
it,
though
there
are
great
people
who've
done
those
shows.
I
actually
like
this
idea
of
somebody
who's
really
trying
to
do
something,
like
he's
trying
to
save
them.
And
I
like
the
idea
that
John
Griffin
has
written
such
real
responses,
and
real
people
like,
"This
guy
is
an
ex-military
guy
who
thinks
he
can
figure
this
out."
...
You
have
to
find
some
really
human
way
to
respond
to
all
of
the
things,
the
stimuli
coming
towards
you.
I
like
that
puzzle.
I
like
the
person
that
I'm
trying
to
figure
out.
And
so,
yeah,
I
really
enjoy
being
Boyd
Stevens.