Netflix has a habit of swinging the axe. It’s a brutal reality for sci-fi and horror fans who get attached to a world only to see it vanish into the digital ether after ten episodes. When the cast of October Faction first hit our screens in early 2020, people were genuinely stoked. You had this weird, moody blend of Men in Black meets The Addams Family, based on the IDW comics by Steve Niles and Damien Worm. Honestly, the show was a bit of a slow burn, but the chemistry between the leads was what kept most of us clicking "Next Episode."
It’s been a few years now, and the dust has settled on the series' cancellation. Looking back, the casting was actually the show's strongest suit. They managed to find a group of actors who could sell the idea of a family that hunts monsters while simultaneously being incredibly dysfunctional.
The Parents: Tamara Taylor and J.C. MacKenzie
The show lived or died on the shoulders of Deloris and Fred Allen.
Tamara Taylor, who most people recognize instantly from her long run as Camille Saroyan on Bones, played Deloris Allen. She brought this sharp, tactical energy to the role. Deloris wasn't just a "monster hunter mom"; she was the strategic backbone of the family. Taylor has this way of commanding a room without raising her voice. It’s that cool, calm professionalism she perfected on procedurals, but here, it was layered with a lot of secrets. She had to balance being a high-ranking member of Presidio—a global organization that monitors "the supernatural"—with the guilt of lying to her kids for sixteen years.
Then you have J.C. MacKenzie as Fred Allen. MacKenzie is one of those "hey, it’s that guy" actors you’ve seen in everything from The Irishman to Dark Angel. He played Fred with a sort of weary, cynical charm. He’s the legacy hire. His family has been in the monster-slaying business for generations, and you can see that weight on his face. MacKenzie and Taylor actually felt like a couple that had been together for decades. They had those short-hand conversations and looks that only married people have. It made the supernatural stuff feel a bit more grounded.
The Twins: Aurora Burghart and Gabriel Darku
If the parents were the anchors, the kids were the heart of the story. Aurora Burghart played Viv Allen, and Gabriel Darku played Geoff Allen.
Finding young actors who can play twins convincingly is tough. It’s not just about looking alike; it’s about the vibe. Burghart and Darku nailed the "us against the world" mentality. Viv was the more introspective, artistic one who suddenly starts seeing things she can’t explain. Geoff was the outgoing, slightly arrogant brother who hides his insecurities behind a wall of sarcasm.
Darku, whom you might have spotted in Slasher or Shadowhunters, really had to do some heavy lifting. His character deals with the double whammy of discovering his parents are secret agents and realizing he has psychic abilities that connect him to the very things his parents kill.
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Why the Chemistry Worked
What made the cast of October Faction stand out wasn't just individual talent. It was the friction. You had these two teenagers who were already dealing with the standard "moving to a boring small town" drama, only to realize their entire lives were a curated lie. The scenes where the four of them were stuck in that massive, creepy Allen estate felt claustrophobic in a good way.
The Supporting Players and the Presidio Factor
We can't talk about the cast without mentioning Maxim Roy as Alice Harlow. She was the primary "antagonist" for much of the season, but as the show progressed, you realized she wasn't just some monster of the week. Roy played Alice with a desperate, vengeful intensity. She represented the fallout of Fred and Deloris’s past mistakes.
Then there’s the Presidio higher-ups. Wendy Crewson showed up as Maggie Allen, Fred’s mother. Crewson is a veteran of Canadian and American television, and she brought a chilling, bureaucratic coldness to the role. She was the physical embodiment of the organization—someone who viewed the world in terms of "assets" and "threats" rather than people.
- Megan Follows (the legendary Anne of Green Gables herself) also appeared as Edith Mooreland. Seeing her in a role so far removed from her "kindred spirit" roots was a trip. She was ruthless.
- Stephen McHattie played Samuel Allen. McHattie has one of those voices that sounds like it’s been cured in woodsmoke. He brought a sense of history to the Allen family lineage.
What Went Wrong with the Show?
So, if the cast of October Faction was so solid, why did it get canned after just one season?
It's a mix of things. Netflix's internal metrics are notoriously opaque, but the show struggled with its tone. Sometimes it wanted to be a teen drama, other times a gritty horror, and other times a high-tech spy thriller. When you try to be everything to everyone, you sometimes lose the plot.
The budget was also clearly a factor. Some of the CGI for the creatures was... let's just say it varied in quality. In a post-Stranger Things world, audiences expect a certain level of visual polish. While the actors were doing great work, they were sometimes acting against special effects that looked a little 2005.
Also, the pacing was a bit wonky. It spent a lot of time on world-building in the first five episodes, and by the time the big reveals happened in the finale, some viewers had already moved on to the next shiny thing in their queue. It’s a shame, because the finale actually set up a much more interesting second season where the twins would have been fully aware of their powers.
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Where is the Cast of October Faction Now?
Since the show ended, the actors haven't exactly been sitting around.
Tamara Taylor moved on to Law & Order: Organized Crime, playing Angela Wheatley. It was a role that allowed her to tap into that same complex, morally grey energy she had in October Faction.
Gabriel Darku has continued to work steadily in the Canadian TV scene, which is a powerhouse for sci-fi and horror. He’s appeared in projects like The Expanse and Workin' Moms.
Aurora Burghart has been active in the UK, appearing in series like The Stranger and doing voice work.
J.C. MacKenzie is, as always, everywhere. He’s one of those actors who will likely never be out of work because he can play a lawyer, a villain, or a grieving father with equal ease.
The Legacy of the Series
Even though it’s a "one-season wonder," October Faction still has a niche following. People find it on Netflix every day, get through the ten episodes, and then head to Reddit to ask, "Wait, where’s season 2?"
The show tackled some heavy themes that weren't common in teen supernatural shows at the time. It dealt with systemic racism through the lens of a monster-hunting organization. It looked at the trauma of being a "displaced" person. It explored the idea that the real monsters aren't the ones with claws, but the ones in suits making the rules.
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The cast of October Faction gave those themes a human face. Without their performances, the show might have been totally forgettable. Instead, it remains a "what could have been" in the annals of streaming history.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you’re still craving more from this world, you aren't totally out of luck.
First, read the comics. The original source material by Steve Niles and Damien Worm is significantly darker and more stylized than the show. The art style alone is worth the price of admission—it’s scratchy, gothic, and very atmospheric.
Second, follow the actors. If you liked Tamara Taylor's performance, check out her later work where she plays much more nuanced characters than the "boss" role she had on Bones.
Finally, if you’re a fan of this specific sub-genre—the "supernatural family drama"—there are other shows that hit similar notes. Locke & Key (also based on IDW comics) stayed around longer and has a similar "family secrets in a big house" vibe. The Umbrella Academy offers that dysfunctional family dynamic with a much bigger budget and more consistent tone.
The cast of October Faction did the best they could with the material they were given. In the end, they created a family that felt real, even if the world around them didn't always make sense. While we probably won't see a revival anytime soon—Netflix almost never reverses these decisions years later—the single season we have stands as a testament to a great group of actors who were just starting to find their groove.
To get the most out of your rewatch or your first time through:
- Pay attention to the background details in the Allen house; the production design team put a lot of Easter eggs for comic fans there.
- Watch Gabriel Darku’s physical performance as his powers manifest; he did a lot of work to make the psychic "strains" look painful and authentic.
- Don't skip the credits; the music choices for the show were actually pretty spot on for the mood they were trying to set.