The CW, known for its extensive superhero slate, is branching farther out into bloodsucker territory as Deadline reports a small screen reboot of The Lost Boys is on the way. Before you dab your brow in anticipation of a “why are they rebooting my favorite movie EVER?!” rant, hold fire. Plans for the series aren’t as dour as they might seem.
First of all, the show is being orchestrated by Rob Thomas, the man behind the superb Veronica Mars. That series, and its spinoff movie, demonstrated a rather special grasp of the material, making its lead likeable and fun without resorting to tired teen stereotypes. For The Lost Boys, Thomas plots to do something that should please fans of the 1987 film. He’s fashioning a fresh spin on the story. Yes folks: this is not a direct remake.
Word from the reporting outlet suggests that Thomas and The CW feels confident enough in its new approach. Why? Because the pitch is for a seven-season run. Here’s the full description:
“Envisioned for a seven-season, anthology-style run, the series will tell a story spanning 70 years, each season chronicling a decade. Season 1 will be set in San Francisco during the Summer of Love, 1967. Each season, the humans, the setting, the antagonist and the story all change — only the vampires, our Lost Boys, who like the Peter Pan characters never grow up, remain the same.”
The brief logline says the show plans to explore “what it really means to be immortal,” and I have to admit that I’m somewhat intrigued by this era-jumping angle. The CW’s already had success with The Vampire Diaries, which followed a regular chronological narrative, so positioning The Lost Boys as a decade-a-season type show is very promising indeed. Whether or not the series will include a few throwbacks to the original Joel Schumacher film is still unknown. But it’d be a kick to see Kiefer Sutherland or Jason Patric stop by for a cameo.