#NYCC14: First Teaser and Early Details on The Following Season 3

Debi Moore |

Oct 12, 2014

We kind of gave up on “The Following” last year – we watched it but only begrudgingly – and aren’t sure how many of you Dreadies are still on board for the further adventures of Joe Carroll and Ryan Hardy.

In case there are still “followers” out there, here’s a look at some early footage from Season 3 that was shown during New York Comic Con along with highlights from the panel courtesy of Screen Rant.

On hand for the show’s NYCC presentation were producer Marcos Siega and cast members Kevin Bacon (Hardy) and Shawn Ashmore (Mike Weston), who confirmed that Season 3 will pick up one year after Season 2. Flashbacks will be shown to help the audience catch up.

Bacon said last season was about the masks we wear – and Hardy masking his pain. This season Hardy is in a much better place; he has a girlfriend, and his relationship is strong with his niece – he’s got a life. On the other hand, Mike has lost everything and made a decision to go off on a hunt for Mark – which has pushed him away from Hardy.

Joe (James Purefoy) and Mark (Sam Underwood) will not be hidden from the audience. Joe plays a big part in the season – and that chapter of “The Following” has its proper ending. Joe’s story is just the tip of the iceberg, and Mark will be a shark under the water – used in ways to surprise the audience. In the first episode we’ll find out who was in the car with Mark (it’s a woman) at the end of the finale.

The thing that drives the show is conflict. Conflict among Carroll, Mike, Hardy, and Mark fuels this season, but it’s important that the characters grow and change – especially Mike.

Zuleikha Robinson plays Hardy’s new girlfriend – an ER doctor. The second episode will feature a flashback about how the two met.

Max Hardy (Jessica Stroup) is in a relationship with a character named Tom, a SWAT guy that we will see regularly. Mike still wants to be with her but had to make the choice between fighting for her or his thirst for vengeance against Mark.

Dr. Arthur Strauss (Carroll’s mentor played by Gregg Henry) will return. He’s on trial, and the audience will meet some of his followers. Part of the season will revolve around Hardy and Mike’s questionable methods of dispensing justice.

According to Bacon, this year they’re dialing back on the blood (and “stabby stab”), but some of the actual violence will be more disturbing. The actor believes that some of the implied brutality, what you don’t see, will be even more frightening than previous seasons. Ashmore added there’s a death in Episode 2 that features an especially shocking method for killing.

The producers know where Season 3 ends and how Season 4 will begin – assuming they get a fourth season.

“The Following” Season 3 Overview
It’s been a year since the climatic events of Season 2 – a year that has made a lifetime of difference for FBI agent RYAN HARDY (Kevin Bacon). We see Ryan as we’ve never seen him before. He’s involved with GWEN (Zuleikha Robinson; “Homeland,” “Rome”), an ER doctor and the mother of a seven-year-old girl. But a peaceful life is not in the cards for Ryan as a series of horrific murders rocks New York, sending its residents into a state of fear and paranoia, and the entire city into lockdown. Ryan struggles to balance his desire to be a good partner to the woman he loves and saving the city from one of the worst threats it’s ever faced. With Ryan’s arch-nemesis, manipulative serial killer JOE CARROLL (James Purefoy), on death row and familiar faces – including psychopath MARK (Sam Underwood) – appearing in the most unexpected ways, Ryan is forced to ask: What if this is not Joe Carroll’s work but something much bigger? What if Joe Carroll was just the beginning?

For more info visit “The Following” on Fox.com, “like” “The Following” on Facebook, and follow “The Following” on Twitter.