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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.


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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