Earlier this year, it was teased that the creators of ABC’s ‘Once Upon A Time’ would be creating a spinoff that was centered on the Mad Hatter. However, as the show moved further along into development, things changed and the lead focus shifted to Alice. And thus ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’ was born.

Set before the curse in the original series took hold, ‘Wonderland’ was meant to be a limited series starring Sophie Lowe as Alice, Emma Rigby as the Red Queen, and Paul Reubens as the White Rabbit. But now, it appears that the dramatic fantasy was granted an extended episode order. While the number is more than the initial 13, it’s less than the standard 22, which means that this show features a very unique set up.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis reveal their very different vision for this new show. According to the report, they’re looking to create “a self-contained epic romance that’s planned in advance from start to finish” because adding more to what they have just wouldn’t work:

“We really want to tell the story without having to worry about how to stretch it for five years,” Kitsis tells EW. “The upfront order will be it for the season.” Horowitz adds, “This is not meant to be a 22-episode season. Whatever it ends up being, we’ll have told a complete story, with a beginning, middle and end.”

So essentially what we have here is an anthology series similar to ‘American Horror Story’? Kinda, but not really. If ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’ were permitted to continue, then it would tell a new story with the same characters as opposed to changing everything at the start of each new season. “If the audience responds and people love these characters, the plan would be to bring it back next year and tell a whole new story,” Horowitz says. Basically, what we’ll end up getting is like ‘24’ or the last two seasons of ‘Torchwood’ where each season stands alone as a complete story, but it builds on what came before it.

If it’s all still a bit fuzzy to you how all this is going to play out, maybe things will be clearer after the ‘Once Upon A Time’ crew appears at Comic-Con to talk about their growing stable of shows. But until then, what do you think of this different approach to Horowitz and Kitsis’ fairytale universe? Are you looking forward to ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’? Let us know in the usual place.