Netflix will take Sean Bean’s cult hit The Frankenstein Chronicles to the U.S. and further afield after striking a deal for the U.K.-produced drama series. The streaming service has taken both six-episode seasons and is expected to run the series as a Netflix Original in the U.S.
The Frankenstein Chronicles is a re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s classic novel. Set in 1830s London, Bean (Game of Thrones) plays John Marlott, a war veteran and river policeman. Season 1 of the serialized show sees him investigating the case of a corpse made up of body parts from different children, and finding the matter involves senior establishment figures and demonic forces.
The show has been on ITV’s Encore channel in the U.K. but the British broadcaster is closing the linear service and “The Frankenstein Chronicles” will then be one of several series available as a box-set on its catchup service. The show has been well-reviewed, but the ITV Encore pay-TV channel only attracts a modest audience in the U.K. The series is produced by U.K.-based Rainmark Films, and Frank Doelger (“Game of Thrones”) is an executive producer.
Netflix has stepped up and inked a global deal for The Frankenstein Chronicles, but the international situation is complicated by the fact that the show’s distributor, Endemol Shine International, has already licensed the series in multiple territories. Where that is the case, Netflix will still have it, but in a later window.
