By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The makers of a grisly new serial killer TV series, "The Following," defended the show on Tuesday in the wake of outrage over the shootings last month of young children at a school in Connecticut and a rising debate over violence in the entertainment industry. The series, which premieres on Fox television on Jan. 21, stars Kevin Bacon and centers on an imprisoned serial killer (played by James Purefoy), who inspires his cult-like following to commit murders and acts of suicide.