Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams to Adapt ‘Lovecraft Country’ as HBO Anthology Series
After finding unprecedented success in the film world, Jordan Peele isn’t forgetting about the medium that gave him his start. The “Get Out” writer-director — and “Key & Peele” co-creator — has just set a deal to produce “Lovecraft Country,” a new HBO drama given a straight-to-series order by the premium cable giant.
Peele and his production company, Monkeypaw Productions, are joining J.J. Abrams’ “Bad Robot” and Warner Bros. Television to bring Matt Rush’s 2016 novel to the small screen. Peele, Abrams, Ben Stephenson (“The Fall”), and Misha Green will all be executive producers on the series, and Green will also serve as showrunner.
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“When I first read Lovecraft Country I knew it had the potential to be unlike anything else on television,” Green told Deadline. “Jordan, JJ, Bad Robot, Warner Bros., and HBO are all in the business of pushing the limits when it comes to storytelling, and I am beyond thrilled to be working with them on this project.”
Set in the ’50s, Rush’s novel follows Atticus Black, a 22-year-old who goes on a road trip through the American south in search of his missing father. Joining him are a friend, Letitia, and his Uncle George, and all three face intense racist threats as well as malevolent spirits over the course of their journey.
Combining racism with horror is already considered a speciality of Peele’s, given the critical acclaim and box office success of his first feature film, “Get Out,” and this adaptation plans to be an anthological horror series featuring genre storytelling told specifically from an African-American perspective.
No release date or casting was specified.
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