**‘Dark Shadows’ Gets New Blood As CW, Warner Bros Television Set Pilot Script Deal**

‘Dark Shadows’ Gets New Blood As CW, Warner Bros Television Set Pilot Script Deal For Mark B. Perry

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Thanks, MB, that is AWESOME!

And the story is spreading to other Web sites - but they're all working off of Deadline's info...

It’s been years since I’ve posted. Glad to see the board is still around. Any here from early 2000’s still here. I was last in high school in 2004 in my last site visit.
 

Wow! The approach they're taking of a next gen sequel rather then another reboot makes me really excited for this.

Mark Perry's words do seem to imply he may have a Star Trek: The Next Generation concept in mind for this Dark Shadows:  Reincarnation - but he doesn't say that outright. IF that is what he has in mind, it will be fascinating to see how it takes shape. Will we get David as Master of Collinwood and his children/grandchildren, or perhaps only his children/grandchildren, or perhaps even something else entirely? And many DS fans have been saying for years that they would love a new series with a next generation take. Though will they love that if, say, that means no Barnabas, or perhaps even an entirely new set of characters, as they did with ST:TNG? DS fans can often be a fickle bunch - give them what they've said they've wanted and often they don't want it anymore...

Time will tell...

It's nice to see that now the story is spreading like wildfire - 14 new alerts to my e-mail in just the past 30 minutes...

Mark Perry (if I've got the name right--I am not familiar with his work, because as we all know, I live in a cave) has the good taste to quote Grayson Hall. He gets a Steve merit badge for that.

Let's be real--whether the series appeals to old guard fans or not is a fairly minor point in the greater scheme of things. I don't know what the target demographic of commercial TV is now, but I'd guess the most important market share now is around 15 to 35 year olds. If a significant share of that group doesn't tune in, the show is unlikely to last long. It's the CW again and I for one will be surprised if it airs at all, but who knows.

If DS takes off the way recent cult shows such as American Horror Show and Sabrina have done, then it could go gangbusters. One way those shows succeeded was by doing shorter seasons of only 10 or so episodes at a time, and I'd think the same will be true of the new DS if it is ordered to series. Just seems to be how the decision-making players run the game now.

G.

And a Hello to VictoriaWintersFan--I've been on the board since its inception, as is the case for most of the few people who still post regularly on here.

G.

I don't know what the target demographic of commercial TV is now, but I'd guess the most important market share now is around 15 to 35 year olds. If a significant share of that group doesn't tune in, the show is unlikely to last long.

Exactly. I said this back in '04 and it's only truer now: today's networks are not really interested in attracting the age group of DS' original fans, so whether original fans like whatever take Mark Perry comes up with can be a moot point.

It's the CW again and I for one will be surprised if it airs at all, but who knows.

Though the people running the CW are very different than the people who ran the WB back in '04...

All I can say is that if the pilot script moves forward and if Rob Bowman is given the assignment of directing it, he'd better not abandon it in favor of directing a feature, which is what he did back in '04. That didn't work out for anyone concerned.

If DS takes off the way recent cult shows such as American Horror Show and Sabrina have done, then it could go gangbusters. One way those shows succeeded was by doing shorter seasons of only 10 or so episodes at a time, and I'd think the same will be true of the new DS if it is ordered to series. Just seems to be how the decision-making players run the game now.

The CW uses both models. They have shows with fewer than 20 eps as well as shows with 20+ eps...

I'm not holding my breath.  We fans have all been there, done that with "revivals."  And, in the end, nothing happens.  Call me a pessimist. 

Gerard

Though one of the things in the past with DS as well as other revivals is that scripts have been written and then shopped around. This time around with DS, it seems as if the CW is already interested in Mark Perry's take and has ordered a script based on it. IF that script turns out to be what they hope it will be, that's a huge hurdle crossed. Though there would still be many more hurdles to go...

All I can say is Woo Hoo... that is great news.    If it does get to the pilot stage, I hope they get Danny Elfman to score the music. He is terrific. Hard to believe, it's been 7 years since the Depp movie, 15 years since the WB pilot and gulp 28 years since the NBC remake.... Where has the time gone?

Wow!  Really sounds encouraging - especially since he was one of the ones who ran home from school to see the original.  His comments on being faithful to the canon the way Star Trek has sounds great.  It really would be fun to see a "next generation"!!  And how interesting that Dan Curtis' daughters are involved.

I'm so grateful to see all the discussion about this. I got the news a few minutes ago and just wasn't sure what to guesstimate. I'm so encouraged by everyone's thoughts and comments to give me some solace on the possibilities and probabilities. It's big news, but when isn't it?