Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is bringing Dark Shadows back from the grave.
The cult TV show from the 1960s, a Gothic soap opera featuring tormented vampire Barnabas Collins and his supernaturally dysfunctional family, will be reimagined as an adult animation series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The original series, created by Dan Curtis, aired weekdays on ABC from 1966, to 1971 and gained a devoted following. It was one of the first hit daytime series and became an enduring cult classic. The show spawned several feature film adaptations, most famously Tim Burton’s 2012 feature starring Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer.
WBA said its animated Dark Shadows reboot will continue the saga of the Collins family. The offiicial log line reads: “Blending gothic, horror, and supernatural genres, this coming adaptation promises all the dark twists and romantic intrigue that defined the transformational series across its 1200-plus episode run.”
Lisa Holdsworth, creator of Channel 4 series Dreamers and a writer on Sky’s Discovery of Witches and the BBC’s Call the Midwife, will executive produce and be the showrunner on the series. Other exec producers include Cathy Curtis, Tracy Curtis, Eric Homan, Kevin Kolde, and Fred Seibert. The series is currently in development. WBA did not give any details on when it expects to deliver.
WBA announced the project during its studio focus panel at Annecy, where WBA’s Peter Girardi (EVP, Alternative Programming) and Shaleen Desai (SVP, Adult Series) previewed the studios’ current adult animation slate.
