60-Year-Old Vampire Fantasy Franchise Officially Gets New Reboot Series

In its 60th anniversary year, a classic Gothic horror series is being resurrected as an adult animated series. Warner Bros. announced the new reboot this week, inviting audiences back to the town of Collinwood, Maine. That’s right, the studio is putting together a new iteration of the classic Dark Shadows property, perhaps having been inspired by the record-breaking success that Netflix has seen with its Wednesday series. Starring Jenna Ortega in the titular role, Wednesday remains the most-watched Netflix original of all time. The show was executive-produced by Gothic cinema icon Tim Burton, who, coincidentally, has a connection to the Dark Shadows franchise as well. He directed a theatrical feature adaptation in 2012, starring Johnny Depp as the vampire Barnabas Collins, who wakes up hundreds of years after “dying,” only to find his family name besmirched.

But the Dark Shadows movie was neither well-received nor commercially successful. In fact, several attempts to reboot the Dark Shadows franchise have failed over the years. A lavish revival series was released on NBC in the early 1990s, but was canceled after a single season. A 2004 reboot didn’t move beyond the pilot stage, while an ill-fated adaptation for The CW was canceled due to unprecedented global events in the early 2020s. The original show, of course, premiered in 1996 and ended in 1971, having aired over 1,200 episodes. Two feature films — House of the Dark Shadows and Night of the Dark Shadows — were released in 1970 and 1971, respectively.

Here’s the Official Logline for the New ‘Dark Shadows’ Series

The new animated series will be created by Dan Curtis, Warner Bros. Animation’s Peter Girardi (Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming) and Shaleen Desai (Senior Vice President, Adult Series) announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Lisa Holdsworth was announced as the showrunner, while the network or streamer that will ultimately air the new series wasn’t immediately revealed. Here’s the official logline: “Blending gothic, horror, and supernatural genres, this coming adaptation promises all the dark twists and romantic intrigue that defined the transformational series across its 1200-plus episode run.” Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Release Date

1966 – 1971-00-00

Directors

Lela Swift, John Sedwick

Writers

Ron Sproat, Malcolm Marmorstein, Art Wallace, Gordon Russell

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  Grayson Hall

  Julia Hoffman

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  Joan Bennett

  Elizabeth Collins Stoddard / Naomi Collins