TNT and M. Night Shyamalan are ramping up TNT’s new Tales from the Crypt horror block. The network has officially greenlit an initial 10-episode order of the fan-favorite Tales from the Crypt anthology series, based on the original EC Comics.
The anthology series will be at the center of each week’s chilling lineup, guided by a newly-reinvented Crypt Keeper, one of the most popular characters in the Tales from the Crypt universe. TNT’s new Tales from the Crypt horror block is now slated to launch in 2017.
In building the horror block, TNT has ordered a pilot for Time of Death (working title), a seasonal anthology series from IM Global Television. TNT has also begun development on Creatures, from Naegle Ink.
“I’m really thrilled about the way this horror block is coming together with the addition of ‘Time of Death’ and ‘Creatures,’” said Shyamalan. “That such a beloved property like ‘Tales from the Crypt’ is launching our evening makes it an even more unique and exciting opportunity. Across the board, the level of talent has been very inspiring.”
Time of Death is planned as an anthology of season-long horror tales that unfold in real time – each one taking viewers hour-by-hour through a single “long night of hell.” The first season will follow a murderous psychopath who returns to his Midwestern hometown during the annual county fair to exact revenge on a community he believes destroyed his life. The pilot for Time of Death is written by Guy Busick (Watch Over Me) and newcomer R. Christopher Murphy, with Shyamalan and IM Global Television’s Mark Stern and IM Global Founder and CEO Stuart Ford serving as executive producers. While the first season of Time of Death will pay tribute to the great slasher films of the 1980s, future seasons will be inspired by the traditions of other horror subgenres.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be in business with Night and TNT,” said Stern. “Their enthusiasm for the pilot script has been obvious from the outset, and their ‘Tales from the Crypt’ block is the perfect home.”
Another Tales project now in development is Creatures, a sophisticated psychological thriller that tells the disturbing tale of two former best friends who, at 12 years old, tried to cut out their classmate’s heart as a sacrifice to an internet bogeyman they invented called Mr. Gorgi. Fifteen years later, the two young women have been released from a psychiatric institute into their small town in Alaska, but it’s not long before they start to feel the alluring and terrifying presence of Mr. Gorgi once again. Creatures is a story of deep friendship and dark obsession, where a vivid imagination meets the power of suggestion and the seduction of belief. Creatures is being written by BAFTA Award winner Dominic Mitchell (In the Flesh) and produced by Sue Naegle’s Naegle Ink. Tom Shankland (“House of Cards,” “The Missing”) is attached to direct and serve as executive producer.
In January, TNT announced that it is teaming up with Shyamalan on this new horror block of terror and suspense to be curated by the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Sixth Sense, Signs and Unbreakable, and executive producer of the hit series “Wayward Pines.” The block will feature both short and long-form storytelling, led by the Tales from the Crypt anthology series, which is executive-produced by Shyamalan, his partner at Blinding Edge Pictures, Ashwin Rajan; Endgame’s James Stern; and Aloris Entertainment’s John Santilli and Dan McKinnon.
