Stephen King, horror man extraordinaire, has the Midas touch when it comes to spook-filled romps. The IT adaptations were monstrous successes, his partnership with Mike Flanagan has proven fruitful for the both of them and now, adding to the exemplary TV layout of King’s properties will soon be a ‘Salem’s Lot prequel in the form of Jerusalem’s Lot, which is coming to Epix and has Adrien Brody attached as the star.
The series, which is going to be the first in-house production for Epix, already has a 10-episode order, is set to shoot next year and will be released in Fall 2020 for a spooky Halloween treat. We’ve also learned that writers Jason and Peter Filardi, the brothers who brought us Flatliners (both versions) and the awfully racist Bringing Down The House, have been tapped to pen the script – for some reason. Donald De Line, meanwhile, producer of Ready, Player One and Wayward Pines, will be bringing the show to life.
The details end there, but Epix president Michael Wright is certainly excited to have the Filardi brothers on board, saying:
“This series is an intense, absolutely terrifying reimagining of classic gothic horror. We can’t wait to work with the exceptional team of Donald De Line and Jason and Peter Filardi, along with our phenomenal lead actor, Adrien Brody…and of course, when it comes to horror, it doesn’t get any better or more masterful than Stephen King.”
And no, this is not an adaptation of ‘Salem’s Lot, the full-length 1975 novel from King. That’s already had two TV adaptations – one in 1979 and one in 2004. This Jerusalem’s Lot takes place in the 1850s and will act as a prequel to the novel. The short story the show’s based on was actually included in some later prints of the ‘Salem’s Lot novel, but even as a King fan, I kinda had no idea this was a thing. In my quick-glance research though, the overlap between the short story and novel are minor, and perhaps nonexistent.
Now, I’m not against another adaptation of another Stephen King property, but gosh, outside of Adrien Brody, who hasn’t exactly done anything noteworthy lately aside from getting banned from SNL for life, the talent here seems lacking. Not sure how two dudes who’ve made more duds than a land mine factory landed a co-showrunning gig with an IP like this, either. But hey, whatever. Maybe Epix will knock it out of Jerusalem’s Lot? Possibly, but I doubt it’s even going to be an in-field single.
