Syfy is developing Wayward Children, a TV series about a magical boarding school. The popular sci-fi, horror, fantasy and reality channel has been busy as of late, building a new roster of programming that includes TV adaptations of the well-known Child’s Play horror film series, as well as comic book series, Resident Alien.
The channel is also in the process of saying goodbye to some of its previous line up, with programs such as Z Nation and Channel Zero having been recently cancelled, alongside Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin’s Nightflyers. For its part, however, Syfy continues to move forward and not dwell on the past. Having already cancelled a series by such a popular author after a short run, it would be understandable if the network were somewhat hesitant about taking a risk on another. That doesn’t appear to be the case at all, though, as Syfy are now gearing up to work with highly prolific fantasy author, Seanan McGuire.
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THR reports that McGuire’s popular Wayward Children series, which began in 2016 with the publication of Every Heart A Doorway, is currently in development at Syfy. The series is comprised of four novellas, which deal with Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, a boarding school that helps teens adjust to life in the regular world after having spent time in fantasy realms. But when it becomes clear that a killer is on the loose at the school, the students must band together in order to put an end to the terror.
As of this writing, Wayward Children is in the very early stages of development at Syfy, without any confirmed director or cast. What we do know, however, is that the writer of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Joe Tracz, will be handling the adaptation of the books. Though McGuire’s series isn’t as popular as other similar children’s books such as Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series or the aforementioned A Series of Unfortunate Events, it definitely does have a strong following of its own. The decision to bring Tracz onboard is also sure to provide an important degree of experience in adapting well-received children’s books into well-received television programming.
With the sheer number of new television series currently in development, it’s clear that TV networks and streaming services alike are doing everything they can to try and secure the best concepts around. This does seem to pay off quite often for a variety of content creators like Netflix, FX or HBO, but for every successful series out there, it’s worth keeping in mind that there are countless others that don’t hit the right mark with audiences. Adapting a series of books is often a good move, so here’s hoping that Wayward Children finds the same success onscreen that it's found on paper.
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Source: THR