Picture: Getty Images / BOOM! Studios
Having been first unveiled to be in development in 2021, Netflix is finally ready to move forward with its live-action adaptation of hit comic series Something Is Killing the Children with Dark and 1899 creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese on board, taking over from Mike Flanagan. Here’s everything you need to know.
The project is the first for Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese after recently re-upping their eight-figure series deal for Netflix. The duo will be producing the series as well as the writing. Another project, Tyll, was also in the works at Netflix from bo Odar and Friese and was being developed at the same time as 1899. Since the cancelation of 1899, it’s been unclear whether the pair would remain at Netflix, and the current status of Tyll remains unclear.
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese
The project was first conceived at Netflix in July 2021 with Haunting of the Hill House and Midnight Mass creator Mike Flanagan and his Doctor Sleep partner Trevor Macy attached.
Following a year in development, October 2022, The Wrap reported that Flanagan left the project shortly after the cancelation of The Midnight Club. He exited his overall deal with Netflix in December 2022 and moved to Prime Video. Flanagan’s last production with Netflix, The Fall of the House of Usher, is set to arrive in 2023.
Boom! Studios’ Stephen Christy and Ross Richie continue executive-producing the adaptation, with co-creators James Tynion and Werther Dell’Edera co-executive producing. Boom! Studios have several upcoming adaptations at Netflix, including BRZRKR, David Fincher’s The Killer, and more.
Why Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese agreed to work on Something is Killing the Children
In April 2023, the creative duo spoke to the Brazillian outlet O Globo on their decision to work on the new Netflix series saying (translated from Portuguese):
“It was a project that won us over in the title. As you can see from the things we do, we love to kill children (laughs). I do not know the reason. It’s about a young woman monster killer who visits small towns looking for creatures that kill children. It’s a world where only children can see the monsters. It has a whole conspiracy behind it, several elements that we like a lot, a little bit of Stephen King, and a lot of metaphors about what these monsters represent. It will be an American series, made in the United States and with an American cast. It will be our first series made in the USA.”
What’s the plot of Something Is Killing the Children?
Published by Boom! Studios and co-created by DC Comics writer James Tynion (Batman) and Werther Dell’Edera, Something Is Killing The Children is one of the most successful original English-language comic series of the last five years, selling more than two million copies worldwide and winning multiple Eisner Awards including the 2022 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series.
Here’s the synopsis for Something Is Killing the Children:
“When the children of Archer’s Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. Most children never return, but the ones that do have terrible stories—impossible stories of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. Their only hope of finding and eliminating the threat is the arrival of a mysterious stranger, one who believes the children and claims to see what they can see. Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters.“
Who is cast in Something Is Killing the Children?
As of February 2023, no cast members have been announced for Netflix’s Something Is Killing the Children as the series is still pretty early in development.
We should hear more news about this within the next few months. Perhaps we’ll see some familiar faces from Dark or 1899.
What’s the production of Something Is Killing the Children?
Netflix’s Something Is Killing the Children is currently in active development with showrunners Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese writing the scripts.
There is no news on pre-production and subsequent filming, but we’d expect those to happen before the end of the year.
Regarding in which shape are bo Odar and Friese “inheriting” the project from previous creators, we know almost nothing. It’s not out of the question that they could be starting from scratch, although no one involved has commented on that.
How many episodes will there be in Something Is Killing the Children?
The number of episodes for Netflix’s Something Is Killing the Children is currently unknown, but it would be reasonable to expect 8 or 10 one-hour episodes.
What’s the Netflix release date for Something Is Killing the Children?
Netflix hasn’t announced any release dates for Something Is Killing the Children. Still, given its early development stage and that showrunners bo Odar and Friese usually tend to take their time to ensure everything is perfect, the release shouldn’t be expected sooner than late 2024.
