****** This entire post is full of SPOILERS for The Following, past and future episodes.

BEWARE. SPOILERS. BEWARE.

I decided to start watching The Following when Fox did a bang-up job promoting the series before it even premiered. I love Kevin Bacon, and I like a good fictionalized serial-killer story, and I thought the literary twists would make the show interesting. For those of you not “following,” the gist is that Kevin Bacon plays a washed-up FBI agent who quit the job years ago after he almost died catching James Purefoy’s serial killer, Joe Carroll. While in prison, Joe has assembled a cult of like-minded serial killers all drawn to him as their leader and inspiration (Joe wrote a book before he got put away and he’s obsessed with Edgar Allen Poe).

Anyway, long story short, I’ve been watching every episode and after a really great start, the quality of the show, the quality of the writing, acting and storylines has all gone downhill. It’s not flat-out bad, but it’s not a “good” show either, it just has enough hooks to make me want to see how the damn thing ends. Joe’s serial killer is inconsistent, his “followers” seem more like perfectly organized, law-abiding citizens who just want to serve their demi-god, and Joe’s ex-wife (played horribly by Natalie Zea) is THE WORST. I actually get so angry with her character that I scream at the TV. I want that character to die a really horrible death. And I won’t be sad about it if and when it comes. Sidenote: Zea’s character’s eyeliner gets heavier and heavier the more time she spends with her ex-husband. She looked like Raccoon McPantless in this week’s episode.

So, why am I talking about this? Because Star Mag has some interesting gossip about what’s happening behind-the-scenes. And there’s a really awful SPOILER for future episodes.

With sky-high ratings, Kevin Bacon should be thrilled with his new hit series, The Following. Instead, an informant reveals that he’s at war with creator Kevin Williamson about the misogynistic story line.

“Kevin is furious that he doesn’t get much to say in the plot. He hates the way the writers treat the female characters,” a source spills to Star.

Kevin hit the roof when – SPOILER ALERT – he discovered that Natalie Zea and Annie Parisse were getting brutally killed off at the end of the season and realized that the male characters aren’t being treated the same way.

“Even though Kevin’s show is a hit, he’s totally miserable,” confesses the insider. “But the producer basically said, ‘It’s my way or the highway!’”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

I know, I kind of wish I hadn’t read that about Annie Parisse, whose character (a cult specialist, and a cult survivor) is actually pretty cool. They don’t give her character enough to do and she could and should be a lot tougher, but I don’t want to see her eat it. But I’m popping champagne over here at the thought of Natalie Zea eating it. Raccoon McIdiot can die a horrible death as far I’m concerned.

As for Kevin wanting the show to be more pro-woman and stuff… well, the “serial killer” genre of film and TV has always been misogynistic. There are lots of studies and research papers and commentary on that. For me, I could deal with the show’s misogynistic undercurrent if only the show had better writing in general. They don’t know what to do with Zea or Parisse or that poor lawyer woman or the female serial killers. Except kill them off, apparently.

Photos courtesy of WENN.