Another famously spooky family from the 1960s is coming back to television. Move over Addams family, because the Collins brood is coming to The CW with a newDark Shadowsspinoff series.
Deadline, the first to report on this, noted in their write-up that the working title for the upcoming spinoff series isDark Shadows: Reincarnation. The title certainly hints at the spinoff nature of the series with that “Reincarnation” bit as well as the direction of the series. According to the outlet,Dark Shadows: Reincarnationwill “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.”
From the sound of Deadline’s report, the plan here is to lean more towards the late ’60s ABC version ofDark Shadows— the series that started it all, so to speak — rather thanTim Burton’s no-so-favorably regarded adaptation from 2012 starringJohnny Depp,Michelle Pfeiffer,Eva Green, andHelena Bonham Carter. Warner Bros. Television will serve as the studio behindDark Shadows: Reincarnation. Additionally,Mark B. Perry(Revenge,Ghost Whisperer,Brothers & Sisters), will write the pilot episode.
Perry released a statement on his intentions for the direction he wants to take theDark Shadows: Reincarnationpilot, noting in a statement that he wants to “reassure the fans of the original that this version will treat the show’s mythology with the same reverence given toStar Trek, but will also make the show accessible for audiences who aren’t yet familiar with the macabre world of the Collinses.”
That said, Perry also teases the possibility there will be adjustments to the story of the Collins family as he makes updates to the world ofDark Shadows, ending his statement on this note: “My plan is to take as few liberties as possible with theDark Shadowscanon, 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.'”
