Here’s a development we didn’t see coming: according to a new report over at Variety, Amazon MGM Studios is currently developing a new TV series based in the world established by Tobe Hooper’s 1982 haunted house classic, Poltergeist. No writer is currently attached to the project and Variety’s report has no plot details to share. As of this writing, all we know is that such a series is being developed.
The original Poltergeist spawned two theatrical sequels, a deeply ill-advised 2015 remake, and a 1996 TV series by the name of Poltergeist: The Legacy that ran for four seasons. The simplicity of the Poltergeist premise and the enduring popularity of Hooper’s original film are almost certainly to blame for this franchise’s staying power, though it’s worth noting that no project bearing the Poltergeist name has ever reached the heights of that first film.
It’s hard to imagine what an ongoing Poltergeist series might look like in practice. Poltergeist: The Legacy, a TV series this writer was completely unaware of until about 20 minutes ago, broke away from the largely single-location format of the films to tell the story of “the members of a secret society known as the Legacy and their efforts to protect humankind from occult dangers.” Again, this series ran for four seasons! Got a Wikipedia page and everything! Will wonders never cease.
Anyway, there’s nothing further to report on Amazon MGM Studios’ Poltergeist TV series at this time, but do stay tuned for further updates as they roll in.
