Through its initial airings (from 1966–1971) and reruns of Dark Shadows, generations of horror fans spent afternoons in the formative years at the Collinwood Mansion, where the vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) crossed paths with devious humans and all manner of monsters. Now, The CW and Warner Bros. TV are looking to bring viewers back to the Collinwood Mansion in Dark Shadows: Reincarnation, a potential new sequel series that would continue the story of Dark Shadows in the modern era.
Deadline reports that The CW and Warner Bros. TV are developing Dark Shadows: Reincarnation, with Mark B. Perry (The Wonder Years, Ghost Whisperer, Revenge) writing the pilot episode and executive producing with Amasia Entertainment’s Michael Helfant, Bradley Gallo, and Tracy Mercer, as well as Tracy Curtis and Cathy Curtis—the daughters of Dan Curtis, the creator of the original Dark Shadows series.
According to Deadline, "re-imagined show will be a modern-day continuation of the strange, terrifying, and sexy saga of the Collins family of Collinsport, Maine — a mysterious, influential, publicity-shy group hiding a ghastly secret: For the past 400 years, they’ve lived under a curse that bedevils their blue blood with every imaginable supernatural creature and horror."
A lifelong Dark Shadows fan, Perry shared his excitement about extending the Dark Shadows legacy (via Deadline):
“As a first-generation fan, it’s been a dream of mine to give Dark Shadows the Star Trek treatment since way back in the ’80s when Next Generation was announced, so I’m beyond thrilled and humbled to be entrusted with this resurrection. And while I could never hope to fill Dan Curtis’ very large shoes, I do aspire to carry them a little farther into the future. I also want to reassure the fans of the original that this version will treat the show’s mythology with the same reverence given to Star Trek, but will also make the show accessible for audiences who aren’t yet familiar with the macabre world of the Collinses. My plan is to take as few liberties as possible with the Dark Shadows canon, while bearing in mind a quote from a 1970s episode delivered by the inimitable Oscar-nominee Grayson Hall as Dr. Julia Hoffman: ‘The Collins family history is not particularly famous for its accuracy.’”
This isn't the first time that a new version of Dark Shadows has been in the works, as a Dark Shadows TV series aired in 1991 on NBC. A Dark Shadows pilot was also developed by The WB in 2004, but was never picked up to series, and Tim Burton's Dark Shadows movie was released in 2012.
Before it becomes a full-fledged series, we'll have to wait and see if Dark Shadows: Reincarnation gets the green light to go beyond the pilot episode stage, but this is still very exciting news for Dark Shadows fans, and we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated on future announcements.
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
