With October now upon us and the nights beginning to darken – in the Northern Hemisphere, at least – we’re standing on the verge of a brand new season of television now that The Walking Dead season 6 and other such heavy-hitters are close to debut. And though it isn’t due to premiere until early 2016, ABC Family unveiled a teaser for its Shadowhunters series during New York Comic-Con, which is available online for your viewing pleasure.
Taking inspiration from Cassandra Clare’s supernatural series The Mortal Instruments, Shadowhunters is the TV equivalent of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Two years ago, Screen Gems released a big-screen feature film called City of Bones, and while a direct sequel was planned, a measly box office return put paid to that plan, meaning that ABC’s adaptation is the natural evolution of the studio’s stunted cinematic series.
Encompassing six novels in total, there’s certainly plenty of material for the network to work with, and today’s teaser is an exciting – if generic – hint of what’s to come. Citing the hackneyed ‘there’s more to this world’ line that forms the backbone of numerous YA universes, the Shadowhunters clip is a flashy tease of impossibly attractive people in an extraordinary situation – Constantine for the Instagram generation, if you will.
Katherine McNamara, Dominic Sherwood and Alberto Rosende topline the casting bill, with Ed Decter and McG on board as executive producers. The latter talent is primed to direct the first episode of the supernatural series.
ABC Family – which will be known as Freeform from January 2016 onwards – will introduce the Shadowhunters in 2016. In the meantime, you can get acquainted with the show’s leading players via the synopsis below.
Based on the bestselling young adult fantasy book series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters follows 18-year-old Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters – human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. When her mother, Jocelyn, is kidnapped, Clary is thrown into the world of demon hunting with mysterious Shadowhunter Jace and her best friend, Simon. Now living among faeries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves, Clary begins a journey of self-discovery as she learns more about her past and what her future may hold.
