Hulu has ordered a new 8-part dramatic anthology series based on ‘North American Lake Monsters’ a collection of short stories written by Nathan Ballingrud. Mary Laws developed the TV adaptation and will write and executive produce. Lucan Toh and Babak Anvari will also executive produce, with Anvari also directing. The series hails from Annapurna Television.
After the publication of ‘North American Lake Monsters’, Ballingrud’s second book, ‘The Visible Filth’ was adapted as the movie ‘Wounds’, directed by Anvari, and produced by Toh. It was distributed by Annapurna Pictures and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. ‘Wounds’ stars Zazie Beetz, Armie Hammer, and Dakota Johnson.
[‘North American Lake Monsters’] will explore how encounters with vampires, fallen angels, and other monsters force Louisiana natives to re-examine their broken lives in what is being described as a contemporary horror anthology.
This will be Hulu’s third horror-laced anthology, but unlike ‘Castle Rock’ which tells a new story each season, the stories on ‘North American Lake Monsters’ will divide its stories between individual episodes, more in line with Jason Blum’s ‘Into the Dark’. As was announced after Disney came to own all of Hulu, this streaming service will be used to offer “older, edgier and broader fare” than what fans will find on the family-friendly Disney+ service which launches this fall. In addition, insiders believe that Disney’s ownership will lead to “bigger content budgets, synergies with sister networks and a juggling act” for Hulu.
Laws penned the screenplay for the horror movie ‘The Neon Demon’, and has served as a writer, producer, and executive story editor for AMC’s ‘Preacher’. Toh produced Anvari’s horror flicks ‘Under the Shadow’ and ‘Wounds’. They are currently collaborating on the upcoming sci-fi film ‘Departure’.
This series is not expected to keep the name ‘North American Lake Monsters’. It was not announced when it would begin production or be released.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
