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Poltergeist Series Taps Vazquez, Thompson as Showrunners/EPs: Report

Amazon MGM Studios has reportedly tapped Kalinda Vazquez and Robbie Thompson to serve as showrunners and EPs on the Poltergeist series.

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It was back in October 2023 when the word first came down that Amazon MGM Studios and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television were in development on a series adaptation of the classic horror film Poltergeist. Expected to be set within the film's universe, Amblin Television's Darryl Frank & Justin Falvey were announced as executive producers, but no other details were offered at the time. Ten months later, we have a big update to pass along, courtesy of exclusive reporting from Variety.  Reports are that Kalinda Vazquez (Star Trek: Discovery) and Robbie Thompson (Supernatural) have been tapped to serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers – though additional details involving plot or casting were not revealed.

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's Undertaker as a guest star). The move is the latest from the studios as they continue to look to their existing IPs for series and film possibilities.

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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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