TNT Greenlights ‘Tales From the Crypt’ Reboot, and Announces Anthology Series and a New Development Project

Emily Aslanian April 14, 2016, 5:42 pm

TNT is adding some shows that will go bump in the night to their lineup. The cable network greenlit 10 episodes of the Tales From the Crypt reboot, a series which they announced at this year’s TCA press tour.

Executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) and based on the original EC Comics, the series will feature a newly invented Crypt Keeper. Crypt is just one part of TNT’s plan for a two-hour horror programming block from Shyamalan airing in 2017.

The network also announced a pilot order for Time of Death, a Shyamalan-produced anthology series, and project in development called Creatures to potentially join Crypt in next year’s horror block.

Time of Death will feature hour-long glimpses into one “long night of hell,” and switch up horror genres each season. The first season pays tribute to one of horror’s greatest moments: 80’s slasher films. During the season, a murderous psychopath returns to his Midwestern home for a nice helping of revenge during the town’s big county fair. There had better be some Children of the Corn moments, Shyamalan.

Creatures is a psychological thriller about two 12 years old best friends who tried to cut out their classmate’s heart as a sacrifice to an online monster they invented called Mr. Gorgi who have since been released from psychiatric care and are now feeling Gorgi’s presence again. The premise sounds eerily similar to the Slender Man case from last year.

If Fox’s 2015 summer sleeper Wayward Pines proves anything, Shyamalan is a safe bet for producing solid – if not completely confusing and misleading – horror/suspense content. It seems like he’s really trying to be a big player in the TV horror game, currently being led by Ryan Murphy’s myriad of shows and players like A&E as they air their back-to-back Bates Motel/Damien block. We’ll have to see how Season 2 of Wayward Pines goes before making any major guesses on how Shyamalan’s creepfest abilities translate onto television.