Harold Perrineau says 'From' season three is scarier than the last: 'Prepare for worse'

The third season of From, the MGM Plus series about people trapped in a mysterious, terrifying city, returns Sunday. It's hard to imagine the series, where grinning nighttime monsters are just one of its scary aspects, doubling down on the horror. But according to star Harold Perrineau, that's exactly what audiences expect.

“You better prepare for an even worse third season,” Perrineau, who plays Sheriff Boyd Stevens, told CNET. “The scary kids come back, the monsters come back, and then it gets even worse. Yeah, you better prepare for even worse.”

From debuted in 2022 and follows various people in the same heartbreaking situation. After noticing an obstacle on the road, they enter an inescapable place where horrors lurk behind every forest tree and on every restaurant corner. At night, bloodthirsty creatures taunt the residents, who also have worms crawling under their skin, creepy children repeating incomprehensible words, and nightmares from which they never wake up.

Ahead of Season 3, which premieres just in time for spooky season, CNET spoke to Perrineau about what's to come. His character is the respected leader of the ragtag group trying to stay alive, solve the mystery and escape.

Although most of them are still on shaky ground in Season 3, the final scene of Season 2 appears to rescue a townsperson from the terrifying realm. (Spoiler: The woman, Tabitha, appears to wake up in an ordinary hospital.) A synopsis for the new season states: “After the epic cliffhanger of season two, escape becomes a tantalizing and very real possibility as the town's true nature is revealed and the townspeople go on the offensive against the myriad horrors that surround them.”

In the following interview, which has been condensed for clarity, Perrineau talks about the cliffhanger, what he would do if he ended up in From's town, and what he didn't like about killing one of the show's scary creatures. The series is executive produced by creator John Griffin, showrunner Jeff Pinkner, and director Jack Bender. Pinkner and Bender also worked on the television series Lost, in which Perrineau starred.

Q: With scary children, menacing music boxes and nighttime monsters, season 2 was pretty scary. Can we expect an equally terrifying season 3?
Perrineau: You should prepare for an even worse third season. Yes, because the scary kids come back, the monsters – and then it gets even worse. Yes, you should prepare for even worse.

Season 3 is – the best way to describe it is dark. It's dark. It's hard. Not only does it make you afraid of all the things that are coming, but it also fills your heart with compassion for all the things that are going to happen. It's hard.

My favorite moment from season 2 is of course a scene with Boyd. It's the scene where he surprisingly manages to kill one of the monsters. I wanted to know what you think of that scene.
Perrineau: I was super surprised that it went in that direction. … When I read it, I thought, “Oh, wow, it died? Like it just completely died?” I was really, really surprised by that. But then of course I was less surprised when the body was infested with cicadas and we couldn't burn it and all these other crazy things happened. But yeah, I thought it was pretty cool.

The only sad thing about that scene is that the actor, Jamie, is perhaps the nicest person you've ever met in your life. … Oddly enough, I didn't realize how many people were saying, 'Oh my God, I'm so sad. Smiley is dead.' He's a monster, people, (he had to) die.

The cliffhanger in the season two finale seemed a step closer to clarity. I wondered: Can viewers expect some of their burning questions about the town to be answered this season?
Perrineau: I'll just tell you, and the writer will say it like this: He'll say, “Absolutely, yes, you're going to get all the answers to your questions. The question after you get the answer is, 'Now what?'” And that's the trick of the whole thing, isn't it? So, oh yeah, he's going to answer the questions, but what are you going to do now? And that's what – I think the really cool thing about the show is that it's not really a show about questions, it's not really a show about horror, it's a show about people. It's a show about what you do when you're in a situation that you have no control over. And so you find the answer, but what do you do now? And that's the really exciting thing about playing all these characters and being on 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 this horrific, traumatizing reality. Do you ever think about what you personally would do if you were in that situation?
Perrineau: You mean after I stop crying? Sure, I think about it all the time. You know, one of the things that has really helped me is that I have kids. That I have kids and my “protector” energy, that's what I bring to Boyd. And so I imagine that in a situation like that, my protector would jump up and, just like Boyd, would tirelessly try to find a way to save his family or friends, people he loves, from this horrible situation. I hope that I would do that after I stop crying.

What did you enjoy most about playing Boyd in these three seasons?
Perrineau: Oh, it's not particularly hard. It's really fun to play the hero, even if he's a hero who makes questionable decisions, you know what I mean? I like the idea of ​​somebody who, even if you don't like all of his decisions, is actually trying to do something good. I really 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 kill serials for good.” I'm not a big fan of that, although there are great people who have made shows like that. I actually like the 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 wrote such real reactions, and real people like, “This guy is an ex-military guy who thinks he can figure this out.” … You have to find a really human way of reacting to all the things, to the stimuli that come at you. I like that mystery. I like the person I'm trying to understand. And yes, I really enjoy being Boyd Stevens.