Peacock and Blumhouse Television are developing a television series based on the BBC podcast The Battersea Poltergeist. They will produce both a scripted and unscripted series related to the property. Deadline gives the following description of the project:
The shows are meant to be the first installment of a new anthology series called Blumhouse’s Ghost Story. The Battersea Poltergeist tells the story of strange events that occurred in 1956 in Battersea, South London, when 15-year old Shirley Hitchings first began being terrorized by a powerful force. The events were investigated over a 12-year period, becoming the longest documented poltergeist haunting in history. The unscripted companion series will delve deeper into the story through the use of archival footage and new interviews.
Podcast creator Danny Robbins will be onboard as executive producer and he will be joined by Michael Seitzman, Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, and Jeremy Gold. Peacock will likely be targeting a 2023 premiere for both shows.
Lone Wolf Pictures is working on a television adaptation of Anthony Ryan’s Raven’s Shadow fantasy books. Currently going under the title Queen of Fire, Deadline gives the following description of the project:
It follows the journeys of five characters in a shared destiny of another world, divided into warring nations, where the politics are as cut-throat as any own real-world history. That includes Lyrna, an enslaved princess who, despite the malign manipulations of her father, rises to lead an empire in uncovering the truth of the forbidden powers of the Dark; Reva, a young woman, born to privilege, stolen from her loving home, raised to kill and blinded by revenge; and ‘The Woman,’ as she is simply known, is a cruel, ruthless and utterly unrepentant soul in the body of a beautiful woman with an insatiable lust for power who will stop at nothing for the promise of immortality. The series also features Vaelin, a legendary warrior, server of the faith, possessor of a gift, known as ‘the Blood Song,” as well as Frentis, who grew up on the streets alone, is powerless against The Woman’s magic and forced to kill innocents and those he once served.
The series will pull from the Raven’s Shadow trilogy as well as Raven’s Blade books and other short stories based in the universe. No network is attached at this point, but the property should draw interest since epic fantasy remains popular right now.
Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries) is developing a television series based on the YA novel Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix. To be titled Clifton, Variety gives the following description for the series:
The series follows 17-year-old Jazzie Smith, who was born and raised in the idyllic, island village of Clifton, a sanctuary for runaway slaves and others who fled the United States at the height of the Civil War. When a mysterious stranger from the mainland washes up on shore, Jazzie learns a truth about the island’s origins that shatters everything she thought she knew to be true.
Plec will executive produce the series under her overall deal with Universal TV and Aisha Porter-Christie (Shadowhunters) will be onboard as writer. No network is attached at this point, but it will likely land on one of the NBCUniversal-owned venues.
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