HBO’s Tales From the Crypt served as one of the network’s more successful outings into original programming before the likes of The Sopranos, True Blood and Game of Thrones drastically altered the landscape of television. Now, the show is looking to make a comeback – thanks to Andrew Cosby, co-creator of SyFy’s Eureka, and original Crypt producer, Gil Adler.
Running from 1989-1994, the horror anthology - based on the 1950’s EC Comics book of the same name - was a way-past-your-bedtime staple of children taking advantage of their parent’s willingness to pay for premium content.
Though mostly associated with the series’ host, the Crypt Keeper, a six-man puppet who punned his way through the introductions of each episode, the Tales From the Crypt attracted a bevy of top-notch talent for some of its episodes. Stars like Steve Buscemi, Daniel Craig, Brad Pitt, Tim Roth and more, all made appearances during the show’s seven-year run.
The series was so successful, it spawned two theatrical films under the Tales From the Crypt banner – Demon Knight, starring Billy Zane, Jada Pinkett Smith and William Sadler, and the Dennis Miller-led horror-comedy, Bordello of Blood.
Cosby and Adler’s new vision for Tales From the Crypt won’t be a remake of the HBO anthology – nor will it include the Crypt Keeper. In fact, it won’t be an anthology at all, but a serialized program that, according to Cosby, “…will be an ongoing series that uses characters from the comic books in a more modern context.”
So far, the show exists only as a comprehensive pitch and bible that Cosby and Adler are hoping will catch the eye of a network looking for genre content during the current television development cycle.
Right now, Cosby and Adler have been shopping Tales From the Crypt around to the big four networks and cable channels alike – with Cinemax apparently interested in finding a slot for the show. Crypt could fit in well amongst Cinemax's burgeoning line up of original content, which includes such guy-friendly programming as Strike Back and the television adaptation of the Transporter films.
The producers may look into the financing model of Cinemax’s two new shows to get Tales From the Crypt up and running. Strike Back and Transporter are both financed through an international co-production deal, which, in the case of Crypt, would likely take the series from proposal to production rather quickly.
Certainly, for the now largely grown up (physically, at least) fans of the original series, hope lies in the unrestrictive land of a pay-cable channel like Cinemax landing the show – lest this new version pale in comparison to the more adult versions that have come before. Cosby says, “It's all about continually elevating the genre, for both existing fans of the source material and mainstream audiences."
-
Screen Rant will be sure to report, as more news from the new Tales From the Crypt emerges.
Source: Deadline