Oh, my Gothic! The CW and Warner Bros Television are giving Dark Shadows new blood with a deal to develop a sequel to the classic vampire-themed soap opera. Written by Revenge and Ghost Whisperer scribe Mark B. Perry, Dark Shadows: Reincarnation is set to be an hour-long gothic horror drama based on the Dan Curtis-created 1966 soap that famously starred Jonathan Frid as vampire Barnabas Collins.
As reported by Deadline, the reimagined 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."
A longtime Dark Shadows fan, Perry reveals that he had been aggressively pursuing the rights to the original series for years before finally getting the green light to write the pilot for Dark Shadows: Reincarnation, which will harken back to its predecessor as much as possible.
"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," Perry says. "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," Perry continues, "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.'"
As fans of Dark Shadows know, this isn't the only time that the "godfather of horror TV" -- which originally ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971 -- has been redone. Creator Dan Curtis revived the soap in a 1991 NBC series titled Dark Shadows: The Revival, and Tim Burton directed a campy 2012 feature film starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Helena Bonham Carter that was (loosely) based on the series.
Meanwhile, Dark Shadows: Reincarnation isn't the only classic soap opera that the CW has given new life. The network famously rebooted Aaron Spelling's 1980s soap Dynasty in 2017.
What do you think about a sequel being made for Dark Shadows? What are you most excited to see unfold in Dark Shadows: Reincarnation? Which actors are you hoping to see cast in the upcoming reboot? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
