Syfy's highly-anticipated Tremors TV series has been in the works for nearly two years, but with filming about to begin, the cast surrounding Kevin Bacon's character Valentine McKee is coming together. A new report reveals that John Ellison Conlee has been cast alongside Kevin Bacon as a new character named Harlon Maylor, in a series regular role. With Tremors production starting later this month, this will likely be the first of many casting additions as we get closer to cameras rolling on the series.

Harlan Maylor is described as a "scruffy mess," who is the "closest pal" to Kevin Bacon's Valentine McKee. Harlan Maylor is also said to be a genius, who started out his adult life working for a biotech company, who now spends his time focusing on yoga, meditation and self-exploration. Harlan is also said to be obsessed with the sandworm creatures known as the Graboids, and his obsession is said to have taken a "heavy personal toll" on Maylor. While Kevin Bacon's Valentine McKee will be back, there has been no word if any other Tremors characters will return.

The killer Graboid worms that nearly destroyed Perfection, Nevada 25 years ago are back, and the town's only hope for survival is Valentine McKee (Bacon) who beat them once. But to do it again he'll have to overcome age, alcohol and a delusional hero complex. The original Tremors movie hit theaters in 1990, and while it only earned $16 million at the box office, it went on to become a cult sensation that would ultimately spawn a series of straight-to-video sequels, none of which Kevin Bacon or his Valentine McKee character were involved in. The sequels included 1996's Tremors II: Aftershocks, 2001's Tremors III: Back to Perfection, 2004's Tremors 4: The Legend Begins and 2015's Tremors 5: Bloodlines, all of which starred Michael Gross as Burt Gummer, with the actor playing his ancestor Hiram Gummer in the prequel Tremors 4: The Legend Begins.

The original movie also starred Fred Ward as Earl Bass, Finn Carter as Rhonda LeBeck, Reba McEntire as Heather Gummer, Robert Jayne as Melvin Plug, Charlotte Stewart as Nancy, Tony Genaro as Miguel, Ariana Richards as Mindy, Richard Marcus as Nestor and Victor Wong as Walter Chang. Whether or not any of these characters, or other characters that surfaced in the straight-to-video sequels will be featured in the TV series remains unclear at this time, but with casting clearly under way, hopefully we'll learn more about this Tremors Syfy series very soon.

Syfy issued a pilot order for Tremors back in late June, and with production on the pilot starting this month, it's possible that, if the show is picked up to series, it could air at some point in 2018, although that has yet to be confirmed. John Ellison Conlee portrayed Commodore Louis Kaestner in a recurring role on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, and more recently, he portrayed Professor Rick on Netflix's hit series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Shane McCord on Madam Secretary and Benji Diyardian on The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight. Deadline also reports that Vincenzo Natali will direct the pilot episodes from a script by Andrew Miller, who will also serve as showrunner and executive producer along with Bacon and David Schiff in association with Blumhouse Television. Production will begin in Albuquerque, New Mexico very soon.