Damien is a 2016 horror television sequel to 1976's The Omen, ignoring the films that came after it.
An amnesiac Damien (Bradley James) is working as a war photographer, always in the middle of the carnage but never hurt by it. On his 30th birthday he is baptised in blood by a woman in Syria, and memories of the strange deaths in his childhood begin to return.
This series contains examples of:
- Alternate Continuity: To the later films. Whilst Bugenhagen still dies shortly after the events of the first film, anything from that point on is changed. Damien lived briefly in the White House and was not approached by his followers until he was 30.
- Amnesiac Hero: Damien cannot remember the deaths when he was 5, but knows that there is a dark cloud over his life. The first few episodes has him recovering his memories.
- The Antichrist: Damien.
- Anti Anti Christ: Unlike the film series, Damien does not like the idea of being responsible for the end of the world.
- Call-Back: The series ends the same way as the first film, with Damien turning into the camera and smiling.
- Chekhov's Gun: Damien mentions early on that if Shay tried to shoot him that it would go wrong. He guesses wrong, however, as instead of the gun exploding, Simone gets shot in Damien's place.
- Continuity Cavalcade: Rutledge's underground room in episode 2 contains numerous items from the first film.
- Cowboy Cop: Shay becomes this as he continues to investigate Damien. It first starts showing after one of the dogs attempts to kill him.
- Creepy Child: A one-eyed girl in white appears every now and then.
- Children Are Innocent: Shay's son seems completely oblivious to his mounting obsessive behaviour although they know that the devil tried to kill them.
- Downer Ending: Damien finally accepts his role as the antichrist to bring Simone back from the dead. Armageddon is now inevitable.
- Flashback: The series uses clips of the first film whenever Damien remembers something about his past.
- Hellhound: The series' iconic pack of rottweilers return. Several deaths have a dog present, or at least implied to be nearby, and the dogs are usually responsible for it.
- Love Makes You Evil: Damien's desperation over his lover Simone's death leads him to accept his role as Satan's offspring in the finale in order to resurrect her.
- My Car Hates Me: Inverted when Shay's car won't start when he's following Damien in episode 8. Played straight a moment later when his car locks and catches fire with him in it.
- Nuns Are Spooky: Sister Greta becomes more and more disturbing as we see what she plans to do with Damien. During her attempted exorcism/murder we see her by the light of her head-lamp, looking briefly like an avenging angel in the most horrific way possible.
- Rage Against the Heavens: Whilst Damien is a staunch atheist when the series begins, having seen the horrors of war up close and unable to see a meaning behind it, in the first episode he walks into a church and screams at a statue of Christ to give him meaning to the pain. As he becomes more and more aware of his role as the Antichrist, he shows increasing bitterness towards religion.
- Religious Horror: Well...yes.
- Straight Gay: Detective Shay is married to a man but is a tough detective out to stop Damien.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Shay is just doing his job at first, and realises that something is wrong with Damien, but then he gets obsessed.
- War Is Hell: Damien and his colleagues have plenty of stories about the atrocities they have witnessed whilst working in combat zones.
