Warner Bros. has announced a new adult animated series based on Dark Shadows, the classic Gothic horror property that first premiered on television in 1966. The announcement arrives in the franchise's 60th anniversary year, according to Collider.
The original Dark Shadows ran until 1971 and aired over 1,200 episodes. Two theatrical films followed, House of the Dark Shadows and Night of the Dark Shadows, released in 1970 and 1971 respectively. The show is set in the fictional town of Collinwood, Maine, and centers on the vampire Barnabas Collins.
The road back to screens has been a long and difficult one for the franchise. A revival series aired on NBC in the early 1990s but was canceled after one season. A 2004 reboot attempt never made it past the pilot. An adaptation developed for The CW was shut down in the early 2020s due to unprecedented global events before it could air.
Tim Burton directed a theatrical version in 2012, starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, a vampire who wakes up centuries after his presumed death to find his family name in ruins. That film was neither a critical nor a commercial success, adding to the franchise's long string of failed returns.
The new animated series invites audiences back to Collinwood. Collider noted that Warner Bros. may have been encouraged by the record-breaking performance of Netflix's Wednesday, which stars Jenna Ortega in the title role and remains the most-watched Netflix original of all time. The show was executive produced by Burton, giving him a second connection to the Gothic horror universe, separate from his Dark Shadows film.
Burton's involvement in Wednesday demonstrated that Gothic-flavored content can draw massive audiences when executed well. Whether the animated format will finally give Dark Shadows the successful reboot it has been chasing for three decades is a question the new series will have to answer.
No casting or release date has been announced yet.
