Jerry O’Connell cast as Herman Munster in NBCs 'Mockingbird Lane'

It would seem that NBC must love the idea of Bryan Fuller’s revamped version of The Munsters. The show, now called Mockingbird Lane, started life back in the fall of 2011. The Peacock Network was so apparently enamored with Fuller’s take, that they ordered the show to series without a pilot -there had been some rumor that the reason the show was being fast-tracked was they wanted it on by summer 2012. 

But when it came to casting the show, it ran into some trouble. British actor/comedian Eddie Izzard was Fuller’s first (and apparently, only choice) to play Grandpa. But Izzard was attached to a project he was developing over at F/X, which left the network with no choice but to stall the show, so NBC decided to continue with developing the show while a wider net was thrown for casting. Then Izzard’s deal went south (and another fall project was passed on) and he was available again when NBC approached him in March. Fuller’s vision of Grandpa –once played by the late Al Lewis- is that he’s the “Munster family patriarch, a powerful, ancient vampire with an irrepressible twinkle in his eye. He can shapeshift into rats, wolves, and other creatures at will, but he’s also dapper and charming in a fedora; he is a Don Juan-type womanized with penchant for flashy, sexy outfits.”

British actress Charity Wakefield was hired next, cast as Marilyn Munster, Lily's niece. Young actor Mason Cook (Spy Kids In 4D) is set to play Eddie Munster.

Now word has come that Jerry O’Connell has landed the role of Herman Munster. For Mockingbird Lane, the Frankenstein-inspired Herman will be a mishmash of parts from other people and in a constant state of decay. The show’s pilot script has a subplot about Herman desperately needing a new heart — which involves finding a living “donor” for a replacement. “We want this show to be an American Harry Potter,” writer-producer Fuller recently told Entertainment Weekly. “To have that sense of a magical world that you get to go to with your family and find stories told in a fantastical way that are instantly relatable. It’s an American Horror Story that the whole family can watch.” On the subject of Herman, Fuller noted the character is “essentially a zombie in a constant state of decay — and he’s married to a woman who doesn’t age [Lily], there’s something very poignant there.”