After gaining plenty of viewers thanks to Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe, AMC is preparing to tap into another spooky book for an upcoming production. According to Deadline, the network is just beginning to get the ball rolling on a small-screen telling of Emily Carpenter’s yet-to-be-released horror novel, Gothictown. The project will be in the hands of British-Nigerian writer, Abby Ajayi, who will do triple duty as the showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Having already gained heaps of experience as a writer on popular TV shows, Ajayi has numerous titles under her belt, including Inventing Anna, Riches, The First Lady, How to Get Away with Murder, and more. As a developer, Ajayi has backed Hulu and Onyx’s Mahershala Ali-led limited series, The Plot, and Paramount+’s crime drama, Bobby Meritorious.
With the theme of “too good to be true” running through it, Gothictown will follow its main protagonist, Billie Hope, a highly regarded New York City restaurateur who is ready for a change of scenery. Packing up her entire life and bringing her family along for the ride, Billie moves south to escape the hustle and bustle of the city in the small town of Juliana, Georgia. Lured by an offer that she simply couldn’t refuse, Billie was given a grant to open a new restaurant and was also given an incredible steal on a Victorian home, being charged only $100 for her new dwelling. Almost immediately after dropping their bags, the Hope family begins to realize that something is terribly amiss in this quiet Southern town. With the eerie vibes growing day by day, Billie begins to wonder if she’s made the right decision and – if not – if she and her family will be able to escape.
An incredibly hot ticket for the network, AMC got its hands on Gothictown thanks to its first-look deal with Stephen Love’s Made with Love Media, which will be producing the title. In the five years since its founding, Made with Love Media has been behind titles like the hit Netflix sci-fi comedy, They Cloned Tyrone, and has several other irons in the fire, including A24’s Notes from a Young Black Chef, which will feature LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You) in the leading role.
AMC’s Terrific Luck With the Scary Side of Life
Recently, the network that brought audiences Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead has dipped into creating a universe based around the works of celebrated novelist, Anne Rice. Through productions such as Interview with the Vampire and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, AMC has laid the groundwork for a book-to-screen takeover. Next, another set of tales from the writer’s supernatural world will come to life in a series centered around the Talamasca.
Stay tuned to Collider for more information about Gothictown before the book arrives on shelves on March 25.
via Collider