The Collins family will return to television in “Dark Shadows: Reincarnation,” Deadline reports tonight, a brand new sequel series from The CW and Warner Bros Television.
The pilot for the hour-long gothic horror drama will be written by Mark B. Perry (Revenge).
“The 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.”
Deadline adds, “The intention here is to hearken back to the original.”
“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,” said Perry. “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.’”
Created by Dan Curtis, “Dark Shadows” aired between 1966 and 1971, starring Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins. Tim Burton turned the show into a movie back in 2012.