Main

Recurring

Guest

• Marguerite Moreau as Abby Powell, Kayla's mother who mysteriously died. (season 1)
• Charles Esten as Ronnie Pruitt, Jackson, Ashley, and Maddie's deceased father who played music and was an alcoholic. He was especially close to Jackson. (season 2)

Season 1 (2018–19)

Season 2 (2019–20)

Season 2

Development

On November 30, 2017, it was announced that CBS All Access had given Tell Me a Story a series order. The show is being developed for American audiences by Kevin Williamson and is based on the Spanish television series Érase una vez created by Marcos Osorio Vidal. Williamson is also set to write the series and executive produce it alongside Aaron Kaplan and Dana Honor. The series is being produced by Kaplan's production company Kapital Entertainment.^{[10][11][12][13]} On May 9, 2018, it was reported that Liz Friedlander would direct and executive produce the first two episodes.^[1] On December 17, 2018, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season.^[14] On May 11, 2020, the series was canceled after two seasons.^[15]

Casting

In May 2018, it was announced that Billy Magnussen and Kim Cattrall had been cast in the series' lead roles.^[1][16] In June 2018, it was reported that Danielle Campbell, Paul Wesley, James Wolk, Dania Ramirez, and Sam Jaeger had joined the main cast.^{[17][18][19][20][21]} In July 2018, it was announced that Davi Santos, Zabryna Guevara, and Dorian Missick had been cast in series regular roles.^[22][23] In August 2018, it was reported that Michael Raymond-James, Kurt Yaeger, Rarmian Newton, and Paulina Singer had joined the cast in a recurring capacity.^[24][25]

Filming

Principal photography for season one began on June 28, 2018, in New York City, New York.^[26][27] and ended in early November 2018.^[28] Filming for season two began on July 1, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee,^[29] and wrapped on December 18, 2019.^[30]

Marketing

On July 19, 2018, the series held a panel at San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego, California moderated by Entertainment Weekly's Henry Goldblatt and featuring executive producer Kevin Williamson as well as series stars Paul Wesley and James Wolk. The panel included the premiere of an exclusive teaser trailer for the series.^[35][36] On August 5, 2018, a "sneak peek" trailer for the series was released.^[31] On October 5, 2018, the official trailer for the series was released, first premiering during the series' panel at the annual New York Comic Con.^[37]

Premiere

On October 23, 2018, the series held its official premiere at the Metrograph theater in New York City, New York. Those in attendance included creator Kevin Williamson, executive producer Dana Honor, and cast members Becki Newton, Danielle Campbell, Dania Ramirez, and James Wolk.^[38]

Critical response

The series has been met with a mixed response from critics upon its premiere. Based on 15 reviews, the first season holds a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.42 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite an enticing cast and promising premise, Tell Me a Story's overly plotted, grim take on Grimm's Fairy Tales fails to enchant."^[39] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 45 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[40]

In a positive review, Refinery29's Sesali Bowen commended the series saying, "Tell Me A Story captures its viewers to put themselves in the shoes of some of their favorite fables with its realism. So far it's better for it. This new CBS All Access program has enough to stand on without it thanks to an array of characters who are interesting if not a little cliche."^[41] In a more mixed critique, Variety's offered the series qualified praise saying, "For all its faults, the series is enthusiastically pulpy, moving with a propulsive energy that, to be frank, most streaming dramas lack. It's not nearly operating on the same prescient level as, say, The Good Fight, nor quite the radical re-imagining of fairy tales as advertised. But if nothing else, Tell Me a Story's got a wicked bite that might serve it well when trying to grab curious viewers on a streaming platform that doesn't quite have anything else like it."^[42] In an outright negative assessment, RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico criticized the series saying, "There are talented TV veterans in Tell Me a Story, likely lured by Williamson's pedigree, but even they fail to give what could reasonably be called good performances. The pacing, the dialogue, the (complete lack of) visual language, the world building—it's impossible to point to a single element that works."^[43]