The 1985 anthology seriesAmazing Storiesis being revived on NBC. Sad news is, original producerSteven Spielbergisn’t going to beinvolved. Instead, thisrebootof the cult classic is being developed byBryan Fuller, who just wrapped up asHannibalshow runner after three seasons. Joining him areGrey’s Anatomyproducers Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank.
The newAmazing Storieswill still be an anthology series that spans a number of genres, including horror, sci-fi, animation, comedy and fantasy.Bryan Fulleris writing the pilot script. It will be an hour long weekly show that tells ‘fantastic, strange and supernatural stories.’ The originalAmazing Storiesran for two seasons.Spielbergcreated the show, writing and directing several episodes. During it’s limited run, it earned 12 Emmy nominations, and took home 5 awards.
Universal Television is producing the Amazing Stories revival. This will beBryan Fuller’s first series with NBC sinceHannibalwas canceled. That show ended this past summer.Bryan Fulleris also the show runner on the upcoming Starz seriesAmerican Gods, which is based on a novel byNeil Gaiman.
Though anold TVstaple, anthology series are suddenly very popular again. The trend was revived by FX with 2011’sAmerican Horror Story. Though in that series, each season is its own self-contained story, as opposed to each episode being its own thing. FX’s 2014 smash hitFargoand HBO’sTrue Detectiveboth followed this format. Like the original, Amazing Stories will tell an all-new story each week with no connection between them.
The UK seriesBlack Mirroralso uses thisThe Twilight Zonetype of storytelling device. It was recently renewed by Netflix. The CW was hoping to reviveTales from the Cryptin a similar fashion, but the reboot never got an official green light. This newAmazing Storiescontinues the trend of rebooting retro TV shows for a new audience. Other series coming back for more include Nancy Drew, MacGyver,The A-TeamandFantasy Island. Though, withoutSteven Spielberg, will this even really be so Amazing?
