What better way to end spooky season with a bang than with word of a new Poltergeist series? According to Variety, a Poltergeist show based on the popular horror movie is underway and will be coming to Amazon MGM Studios. No writer has been assigned to the project yet.
As part of Amblin Television, the series will be executive produced by co-presidents of Amblin Entertainment, Darryl Frank (Good Night Oppy, Mama’s Boy) and Justin Falvey (All the Way, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind).
Amblin also produced the original 1982 movie and, of course, the iconic Steven Spielberg, who came up with the story, one of the screenplay writers and making the movie.
At the moment, there are no plot details that have been released, but the series will take place in the same world as the film.
Poltergeist follows the Freeling family, who move into a new home only to find the house is incredibly haunted. Then, the ghosts kidnap their young daughter. This is when the family employs a parapsychologist and a medium to get their daughter back and eliminate the evil spirits.
The film was a huge success after its release. It grossed about $121 million worldwide, with a budget of $10.7 million. It was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score and Best Sound Effects Editing.
Its success led to two sequels, one in 1986 and another in 1988. Only two members of the cast were in all three films. The two are Heather O’Rourke (Surviving: A Family in Crisis, Massarati, and the Brain), who played Carol Anne Freeling, and Zelda Rubinstein (The Addams Family, The Flinstones: On the Rocks) who played the medium, Tangina Barrons. A reboot of the film was released in 2015.
If the project progresses, it will be the second TV adaptation of the movie franchise. The first was entitled Poltergeist: The Legacy, which streamed on Showtime for three seasons. It then found its final home on Sci-Fi Channel, where it aired its fourth season.
The series followed a well-known group called The Legacy as they protect the world from supernatural dangers.
Amazon has been adapting MGM IP since it acquired access to the legendary studio, and Poltergeist is the latest effort. With Amazon MGM Studios, beloved movies are being brought to life in new ways. Other notable movie adaptations in development include Legally Blonde, Robocop and Barbershop.
Another movie that is being adapted is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which recently found its showrunner. Also, a show derived from the book Glossy and the Glossier company is developing, with several other projects to come!