By Kelly Cullen ’13 | Social Media Editor

Jaw clenching, disturbing, and what will be a new guilty pleasure, is the T.V. series “The Following.”  Starring Kevin Bacon, “The Following” premiered on Monday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m on Fox.  Truly an edge of the seat kind of show, “The Following” will have you out of your seat within minutes.  The disturbing nature of the show follows the mindset of a serial killer and the manipulative powers a person can have over others.

Bacon takes on the role of Ryan Hardy, a retired F.B.I. agent, needed to help with a runaway prisoner who also happens to be a serial killer.  Ryan, eight hours prior was the agent responsible for tracking down the serial killer and literature professor Joe Carroll, after he killed 14 college students on a Virginia campus.  Joe, once a normal married husband and father, started killing many people to act out scenes from books he read.  Hardy uses everything he knows about Carroll after watching him over the years, to find him finishing up his final kill.  The audience is able to see the pain Hardy has felt mentally and physically coming back to the field.  Kevin Bacon maintains a serious exterior, and does an incredible job playing his part in “The Following”. He makes viewers feel as if the events are actually occurring.

This episode was able to catch the emotions of characters without spoiling anything important while also leaving a chunk unsolved.  “The Following” concluded the pilot with Carroll locked up in jail, declaring this is only the beginning.  Carroll has creating a group from the outside, who will transform, kill, kidnap, and do whatever it takes to help him carry out his final plan.  I have never experienced such a love-hate relationship with a show, as I was left terrified and also craving more.  “The Following” holds a very promising future and will keep the audience on the edge of their seats, or in my case standing up ten feet away.

After somewhat of a fast-paced pilot, “The Following” that aired the following Monday, allows the audience to develop the plot and understand the characters better.  With the murderer Carroll in jail, chapter two demonstrates the power he holds despite being locked up.  The audience is able to learn more about Carroll’s ex-wife, as Detective Hardy is doing whatever it takes to find her missing son who was taken by Carroll’s three accomplices.  Again, “The Following” leaves the audience wanting more as you ride an emotional rollercoaster.

“The Following” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on Fox.