Feelings of honor and respect are often amongst the most revered traits that continuously and powerfully bond family members, even during their most combative and strained times. The infamous Gecko brothers, who have garnered unrelenting awe from devoted horror fans over the past two decades, since they were first introduced in director Robert Rodriguez’s 1996 cult film, ‘From Dusk Till Dawn,’ are learning how to appreciate each other again, even during their most difficult times.

This past April, Shockya had the pleasure of visiting the set of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,’ the television adaptation of the popular movie franchise, and witness the brothers’ humble reconciliation. During the set visit, lead actors D.J. Cotrona and Zane Holtz, who play Seth and Richie Grecko, respectively, generously took the time to sit down and discuss their experience of reuniting on-screen as the notorious brothers as they try to emotionally reconnect.

Holtz and Cotrona recently finished filming Season 3 of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,’ which airs on the El Rey Network, the English language American television channel that targets Latino audiences that was launched by Rodriguez. Miramax will distribute the drama internationally in all territories. The action show, which began filming its upcoming season on March 14 in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico, will broadcast ten new hour-long episodes. Miramax and El Rey Network have announced that Season 3 of the horror television series will premiere tonight at 9PM ET, and will air two back-to-back episodes.

Besides focusing on the two lead actors refortifying the Greckos’ bond after they spent much of the second season, which aired last fall, separated, the third season will also feature some of the ensemble cast from the sophomore season. Eiza González, Jesse Garcia, Madison Davenport, Brandon Soo Hoo and Jake Busey all reprised their roles from last season in the upcoming episodes.

Season 3 of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series’ continues the Gecko brothers’ saga, as they fight their way through the world of culebras, the vampire-snake hybrids that control hidden empires in Texas and Mexico. Once the baddest outlaws in the land, Seth and Richie made a run for the border two years ago, to save their lives – and their fortune. They ran headlong into a bar full of bloodsuckers and bandits, facing off with the vampire goddess, Santánico (González). The Geckos joined her cause, and they settled an old score. It won them a place in the culebra world. Now, that world is about to explode, and new enemies are gathering – dark forces, hell-bent on destruction and domination. It’s up to the Geckos to stop them – but they can’t do it alone.

While visiting the ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series’ set in Santa Fe, Cotrona and Holtz were leading the cast and crew in the filming of Season 3’s third episode. Goya Award winning-filmmaker, Alejandro Brugués, who’s known for writing and directing ‘Juan of the Dead’ and ‘Personal Belongings,’ returned to the El Rey Network show to helm the episode, after he directed the Season 2 show, ‘Attack of the 50-ft. Sex Machine.’

Holtz began his conversation by noting that Richie ascended the power chain during the crime show’s second season, and overtook the authority that was held by Lord Amancio Malvado (Esai Morales in a recurring role). During the season’s penultimate episode, Malvado finally confronted Santanico, during which time he poisoned her with his venom. He then tried to bring her with him as he set out for El Rey, but she ultimately killed him with Seth’s help.

Richie “has become addicted to this lifestyle on the go,” Holtz also emphasized while further discussing how his character overtook Malvado’s powers. So when he finally parts ways with Santanico and reunites with Seth after Malvado’s death, the brothers begin “struggling to find their way, whether it be in the criminal or culebra world. So they’re always going to try to survive, or further themselves, in those worlds.”

The actor also hinted that throughout Season 3 of ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,’ “there’s going to be a difference in the dynamic between Seth and Richie. Seth really isn’t interested in this stuff, but he’s dragged into it. Richie finds it interesting, and tries to exploit it as much as he can.”

As Cotrona later began discussing his character’s involvement and evolution throughout ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,’ the actor described Seth as being “a very classic anti-hero, in the Robert Rodriguez-Quentin Tarantino sense. We’re all familiar with the type of guy he was in the beginning of Season 1. I think he only had experience as a small-time crook who was looking to make a quick buck. Then the world unexpectedly blows up in a pretty scary way.”

Seth’s initial concerns mainly focused on making money and getting his brother out of trouble, “but he lost that battle in a big way in the beginning of Season 2. Throughout Season 2, he was trying to get his brother back, and find his balance in this new, hellish world,” Cotrona added. During his time apart from Richie, Seth “had to figure out what his motivations were, and what he wanted, as he tried to rebuild himself.

While Cotrona’s character is further brought into this dangerous lifestyle in part because of his brother’s drive to maintain his newfound power, after the two were separated throughout last season, “they ultimately realize that they’re best together as a unit,” Holtz explained. “They’ve known that their whole lives, even as they go through this test of being involved in this monster underworld. They always bicker and have their little arguments, but there isn’t any resentment” between Richie and Seth.

Then delving into his experiencing of reuniting with Cotrona for ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series’ upcoming third season, Holtz noted that “We’re about to finish up Episode 3, and I haven’t shot one scene without D.J. So we’re together a whole lot.” The actor explained that his relationship with his main co-star on the show has gone back to the way it was during the series’ first season, “when we were together all of the time as the Gecko Brothers.”

Cotrona echoed Holt’z sentiment about reuniting for Season 3, saying “It was funny-the other day, Zane turned to me around 5 in the morning, during which time we were exhausted. He goes, ‘You know, we haven’t done one scene apart this entire season so far?’ I was like, ‘Yeah!’ But we’re really excited about it. I love working with Zane, and we get along really well. We’re really good friends.”

The actor added that the Gecko Brothers “are a part of each other. Prep-wise and performance-wise, we bring this crazy world alive. I owe a lot of what I do, and am able to do, to Zane, and vice-versa. We play off of each other, more than anything else. So the more I can work with Zane on ‘Dusk,’ the better.’

Also during Season 2’s penultimate episode, Richie and Kate (Davenport) arrive at the blood well, where Cartel boss Carlos (Wilmer Valderramaz) unlocks the pool of blood. Carlos shoots Kate after she tries to save her adopted brother, Scott (Soo Hoo). Cotrona noted that moving forward, Seth won’t resent Richie for bringing Kate to the well, who he helped protect in Season 1, and spent time with throughout Season 2, as “They’re brothers, and that obviously comes first for them.”

But Seth and Richie still have problems brewing between them, and during the upcoming season, “you’ll see them get ripped to the surface. There are different points of contention that illuminate some of those things,” Cotrona added.

The actor also expressed his excitement over further expanding the storyline for the Gecko Brothers throughout Season 3, particularly past the situations that they faced in the original film, which were chronicled throughout the series’ first season. The process “gives us more freedom. As an actor, you want to find a character who you love enough that you want to keep exploring them,” the actor explained. “Robert had it that way by design; we started with the familiar, and then branched off into crazy new stuff.”

Cotrona added that “When you get great characters like these, it’s a blessing that you get to bring them into new scenarios, and explore new aspects of their personality. It’s exciting as an actor to create new stories.”

Holtz has also been embracing the fact that the latter seasons of the horror series have expanded the ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ universe, particularly the Gecko Brothers’ relationship. “We knew that in Season 1 that we were going to retell the movie, so that we could get people excited about these characters again,” the actor said.

“But we knew that from Episode 8 in Season 1 and on that we were going to do our own thing. The rest of the cast and I were eager to honor the movie, but also take the show in its own direction, and have our own stories to tell,” Holtz added. “Season 2 obviously wasn’t connected to the film at all. In Season 3, we’re also going to see a completely new side of the ‘Dusk’ universe.”

For more information on the horror television series, visit its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Watch the trailer for, and check out images featuring Cotrona and Holtz from, ‘From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series’ third season below.

Written by: Karen Benardello