'Following' cast withholds finale spoilers

[May 01, 2013]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Even before the season finale of "The Following" had finished airing in Eastern and Central time zones Monday night, followers of the popular weekly television thriller were serving up spoilers galore on the Internet.

"I was just reading all the tweets, because it's on right now," commented "Following" executive producer Marcos Siega. "And I'm sitting there going, 'Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. They're saying everything.'"

The problem, he explained, was that the show had yet to be broadcast in the Pacific time zone or internationally.

"The Following" spins around a former FBI agent who is forced to recapture a serial killer who has escaped from prison. But this time it's a different cat-and-mouse game: While in jail, the killer has become a cult leader, with hundreds of followers to run interference.

Executive producer Siega, show creator Kevin Williamson, and the series' cast, headed by Kevin Bacon, walked the press gauntlet before a special screening of the season's final episode followed by a Q&A, held at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

In interviews, cast members avoided plot specifics.

"I think the finale is going to be really shocking to everybody," said actress Valorie Curry, who plays cult follower Emma Hill. "It's the same thing I've been saying all season, which is, 'Never get comfortable. Never think you know who is safe and who is not.'"

Spoiler revelation has proven dangerous even to star Bacon, who recently re-tweeted a key "Following" development after the show's stateside airing, only get blasted by both domestic and international fans who'd yet to see the episode. He later issued apologies.

"Yeah, you know, I actually meant to send (a tweet) out today, asking, 'How soon is too soon?'" noted actress Natalie Zea, who portrays Bacon's one-time lover and the killer's ex-wife, Claire Matthews. "I think the U.K. is a day behind. And I think Argentina is a month behind. So, I'm always really confused as to what the etiquette is, what's OK, after what just happened to Kevin."

Of all the actors in attendance, only Bacon would confirm his character, former federal agent Ryan Hardy, was returning for the series' second season. Bacon said he and creator Williamson have been kicking ideas around.

"Well, one thing that we've talked about is that we might jump time a little bit," Bacon revealed.

"You might see a character (a Ryan Hardy) who is in a slightly different headspace than where he has been. When you meet my character at the beginning of this season, I'm drinking too much, I'm depressed, I'm a wreck. I don't know if that's going to be where I'm going to start. Who knows?"

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Online:

http://www.fox.com/the-following/

[Associated Press; By MICHAEL CIDONI LENNOX]

Follow Michael Cidoni Lennox at http://twitter.com/MikeCLennox.

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