It was only a matter of time.
HBO Max has greenlit three new shows from mega-producer J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot Productions. The three shows include a hotly-anticipated DC show (Justice League Dark), a horror show inspired by Stephen King’s The Shining (Overlook) and a brand new show from the mind of Abrams himself (Duster).
People have been feverishly waiting for Abrams to make good on his huge film and TV deal with WarnerMedia, which was signed last year. Would he take on the DC universe? Would he create wholly original shows? Would he reboot Superman? Questions whirled around Abrams and Warner after the deal was done. And now we are starting to see official progress between the two parties.
Overlook will be inspired by The Overlook Hotel from Stephen King’s The Shining. Apparently it will explore the “untold, terrifying stories of the most famous haunted hotel in American fiction.” It sounds a bit episodic or like an anthology series and I am totally okay with that. I am glad Mr. King is once again getting some (justified) love from Abrams. Deadline reports that Castle Rock producers Dustin Thomason and Scott Brown are in negotiations to write Overlook so if you dug Castle Rock, you will likely dig this too.
Duster, co-written by Abrams and LaToya Morgan, is the story of a “gutsy getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate” who seems to get in over his or her head. The show is set in the 1970s Southwest and will almost certainly contain gorgeous visuals and maybe, just maybe, some sweet lens flares.
And finally there is Justice League Dark, a project that comic book fans have been lusting for for ages. The source material is about an off-shoot of the Justice League that specializes in supernatural issues. The main team consists of John Constantine, Deadman, Zatanna, Madame Xanadu, the Changing Man and Shade. But there are many other DC staples who eventually join the JLD so you can bet the cast of characters on this one will be stacked. Many names have been attached to Justice League Dark over the years with rumors of various movies or shows. To see JLD finally get an official green light is a big, big deal for DC fans. Abrams has been hot on the property for a long time so it is no surprise that it is one of the first shows he’s handed to HBO Max.
Speaking of HBO Max, this is a huge win for the upcoming streaming service and shows that they have come to play and compete directly with Netflix, Disney+, Amazon and the others. Any one of these shows would be the pride of primetime for all networks. The fact that HBO Max gets all three is a giant success. And this is just the beginning of Abrams’s relationship with Warner and HBO Max.