Emerald City Will Get "Dark" and "Scary" Inside the Heads of Your Favorite Wizard of Oz Characters

Stars Adria Arjona and Vincent D'Onofrio preview the dark and twisty tale

By Chris Harnick Jan 06, 2017 7:23 PMTags
Watch: "Emerald City" Takes Dark Look at "Wizard of Oz"

Emerald City isn't the trip your parents took down the yellow brick road. NBC's new take on The Wizard of Oz is "a lot darker," star Adria Arjona told E! News' Carrisa Culiner.

"It's a lot more grounded and realistic," the new Dorothy Gale told E! News. Emerald City goes into the psychology behind the characters—and all the characters are still there with the same base—but Emerald City is "mystical and dark and scary because it's so human," Arjona told us.

photos
These Emerald City Posters Will Completely Blow Your Wizard of Oz-Loving Mind
Watch: Vincent D'Onofrio Becomes the Wizard of "Emerald City"

The action begins like the original film. A young Dorothy Gale is swept up into the eye of a tornado and finds herself in another world. The wizard in this version is Vincent D'Onofrio, a ruler of the kingdom that has outlawed magic and angered the witches (obviously). D'Onofrio said director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar and the creators behind the series took the idea of the wizard, a man behind a curtain, and explored that more.

"I think we have a good shot at doing something that's going to amaze people because we really took the time. We have 10 hours of content where you see all these real people with human issues in this kind of fantastical world. Tarsem and the creators of the show did stuff that you've never seen before, it's all brand-new stuff and all magical and wild," he said.

The cast is well aware of the legacy the original film has and that yes, Arjona has big ruby slippers to fill in taking on Judy Garland's iconic role.

"I think the original Dorothy is wonderful, I just think this take on Dorothy is a lot more realistic, a lot more grounded. It's deeper. And I think the issues Dorothy is dealing with are a lot more relatable today," Arjona said.

But don't fret, there will be a version of ruby slippers in the series…but just not on Dorothy's feet.

Emerald City premieres Friday, Jan. 6 at 9 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)