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Poltergeist: Amazon MGM Studios Reportedly Developing TV Series

Amazon MGM Studios is reportedly developing a Poltergeist series, with Amblin Television's Darryl Frank & Justin Falvey executive-producing.

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Article Summary

  • Amazon MGM Studios is reportedly developing a new Poltergeist TV series, executive produced by Amblin Television's Darryl Frank & Justin Falvey.
  • The series development is part of Amazon's strategy to reboot and develop series and films from MGM's IPs library.
  • The original Poltergeist film, released in 1982, grossed over $120M and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
  • The show will mark the second TV adaptation of Poltergeist following the four-season 'Poltergeist: The Legacy'

Back in April 2023, we learned that Amazon Studios would be doing a deep dive into MGM's library of IPs to jumpstart series & film development – with Robocop, Stargate, Legally Blonde, Fame, Barbershop, The Magnificent Seven, Pink Panther, and The Thomas Crown Affair being just some of the films/franchises being considered. For example, Amazon will be working with Michael B. Jordan to expand the "Creed" universe across television & film and a first-look deal with Sylvester Stallone & Balboa Productions (potentially helping ease the "Rocky" rights issue). Well, we can now add the classic horror film Poltergeist to that list – with Variety reporting exclusively that a series take is in early development at Amazon MGM Studios. Amblin Television's Darryl Frank & Justin Falvey are set to executive produce – and though no writer has been tapped for the project yet, the series is expected to be set within the film's universe.

poltergeist
Image: Amazon MGM

The original Tobe Hooper-directed, Steven Spielberg co-written & produced film would go on to gross over $120M+ globally (an impressive number in 1982) and be nominated for three Academy Awards (including best original score). Of course, sequels were to follow – with the last Zelda Rubinstein (medium Tangina Barrons) & the late Heather O'Rourke (Carol Anne Freeling) being the only actors from the original series to appear in the 1986 and 1988 follow-ups (with 2015 seeing a reboot of the original film, starring Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt). This would be the second effort to bring the horror film to the small screen with a spinoff series. Running for four seasons on Showtime and the Sci-Fi Channel (1996-1999), Poltergeist: The Legacy expanded the story beyond the Freeling family. In the series, a global organization known as The Legacy would take on supernatural challenges that threatened mankind. While adding a bit more action & narrative drama to the horror, "The Legacy" would prove to be a fun series in its own right (and you can't go wrong when you have the WWE' Undertaker as a guest star). Here's a look at a promo for the series:

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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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