It would seem the DC Universe is beginning to thrive more on TV than in movie theaters. Justice League Dark which has been in development limbo and Hell for some time is finally going to seen an appearance on the flat screen. HBO Max today announced it has given production commitments for three new high-octane one-hour dramas from J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath’s Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television Group.
This marks the first new Bad Robot–produced television projects for HBO Max under the exclusive, wide-ranging content collaboration partnership formed by Bad Robot with HBO Max parent company WarnerMedia in fall 2019.
We’re not sure which characters will appear in Justice League Dark, but we do know John Constantine (played by Matt Ryan) has been enjoying a resurrection on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on the CW after being canceled by NBC in 2015. The character has also been thriving (and voiced by Ryan) in the DC animated universe. We can probably also expect the likes of Zantanna, Dead Man, Etrigan and Swamp Thing (after his series was canceled on DC Universe) to appear.
A second series is Duster. This will be co-written by J.J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan. Set in the 1970’s Southwest, the life of a gutsy getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate goes from awful to wildly, stupidly, dangerously awful. Morgan is currently a writer on The Walking Dead. Previously, she was a co-executive producer and writer of AMC’s Into the Badlands and TURN: Washington’s Spies, and was a writer for NBC’s Parenthood and Showtime’s Shameless. Produced by Warner Bros. Television.
The third series, Overlook, is a horror-thriller series inspired by and featuring iconic characters from Stephen King’s masterpiece The Shining. Overlook explores the untold, terrifying stories of the most famous haunted hotel in American fiction. The project reunites Bad Robot, King and WBTV, who previously collaborated on the acclaimed psychological-horror series Castle Rock for Hulu.
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“What an amazing start to our association with the wildly imaginative Bad Robot team under J.J. and Katie,” said Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer, HBO Max and President, TNT, TBS, & truTV. “What could be better than an original J.J. idea and then Warner Bros. letting them loose on iconic I.P. from Stephen King and the DC Universe and to provide more must-have programming on HBO Max.”
All of the Bad Robot series for HBO Max will be executive produced by J.J. Abrams and its Head of Television, Ben Stephenson. Rachel Rusch Rich, Bad Robot’s Executive Vice President of Television will serve as a co-executive producer. Warner Bros. International Television Distribution will be the global distributor for the programs.
Current Bad Robot television series produced through Warner Bros. Television include HBO’s Westworld and Hulu’s Castle Rock, the upcoming Demimonde (to be created by Abrams) and Lovecraft Country for HBO, as well as Lisey’s Story, Little Voice and My Glory Was I Had Such Friends for Apple TV+.
Bring on the justice.
SOURCE: Warner Media
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
