9 Upcoming TV Shows Based On Movies (That Will Probably Suck)
Do we really need to see these?
While once upon a time TV was cinema's poor younger sibling, the same can't be said today: TV shows now offer an incredible breadth of storytelling that can at times surpass what's offered on the big screen, and some shows can bring the cinematic spectacle to match.
In that case, it's maybe no surprise that more and more movies seem to be getting the TV treatment. Hollywood isn't exactly known for its originality, so if it can take a pre-existing movie, and extend that out into a multi-episode season, then that's what they're going to do.
It's nothing new, of course, and there's a long, mixed history of stories making the transition from the big screen to the small one. M*A*S*H was an early success story back in the 1970s, and since then we've had the great (Fargo), the terrible (Uncle Buck - both versions), and the WTF (Ferris Bueller).
TV can ruin a beloved film, or take a film no one liked and cared about and turn it into something truly special (hello, Buffy The Vampire Slayer). It's a risk, but one network execs keep on taking. Although a number of planned TV shows based on movies have seemingly disappeared from existence, like Shutter Island and Big, there's still a lot to look forward to, or, in the case of these 9, not.
9. Van Helsing
2003's Van Helsing, itself an homage to the old Universal Monster films and centred around a character from Bram Stoker's Dracula, was a bit of a mess. Although it cast the usually great Hugh Jackman, the film was hollow and overstuffed with CGI creatures.
Still, it took over $300m at the box office, and with a recognisable name and built-in universe to explore, it's not that surprising it's getting the TV treatment.
It's being developed by SyFy, who've had some surprising success with another movie adaptation, 12 Monkeys. Inspired by the characters of the film, this will centre on Van Helsing's daughter, Vanessa Helsing (Kelly Overton). It'll be set in a near-future where the world is overran by vampires, and Vanessa is resurrected to lead the fight against them.
Vampire shows have long passed the period when they were 'in', so it remains to be seen how much interest there is in this from audiences, and there's little cause for optimism: Penny Dreadful already attempted to tackle a similar universe, with some success, and The Walking Dead's got the overrun post-apocalyptic world covered, while it's being directed by the guy who made The Wicker Man...The Nicholas Cage one.