The on-screen adaptation of cult comic Something Is Killing the Children is back in development at Netflix, with Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese (1899) taking over from Mike Flanagan. “Bo Odar and Friese gained a following for their series, sci-fi- and horror-tinged mystery shows praised for their craftsmanship and storytelling,” says The Hollywood Reporter. “Dark, in particular, may find some thematic overlap with Children as it was an ensemble that focused on missing children and multiple timelines.” Here’s why the show is so early-anticipated.
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Boom Studios!
The scary comics enjoy cult status among fans. “When the children of Archer’s Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless,” reads the synopsis. “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.“
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese Run the Show
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese are developing the show. “It’s about a young woman monster killer who visits small towns looking for creatures that kill children,” bo Odar and Friese tell O Globo. ‘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.”
Talent Behind the Comics
Boom Studios!
The comic book has serious talent behind it. “Co-created by writer James Tynion IV (Batman, Department of Truth) and illustrator Werther Dell’Edera, Something Is Killing the Children is one of the most successful original comic book series of the last five years, winning multiple Eisner Awards including 2022’s Best Continuing Series award, and selling over 2 million copies worldwide,” says BOOM Studios. “The series has been translated into multiple languages in over 20 countries outside of North America. The first issue of the SIKTC spin-off series, House of Slaughter, sold over 500,000 copies and became the 2nd highest-selling non-Marvel non-DC debut title of the last 25 years.”
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Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy
Netflix
Mike Flanagan was originally meant to develop the show. “The comic was previously being developed by Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan, the team behind The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, who came on board in 2021. Creative differences sunk the project,” says the Hollywood Reporter.
Eagerly Awaited
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While no official release date has been announced, people are excited to see what bo Odar and Friese create. “Bo and Jante have spent the last few years making some of the best genre television in the world,” Tynion tells Boom Studios. “I couldn’t be more thrilled that they’re working to bring Erica Slaughter to life.”
“I cannot imagine anyone more exciting than Baran Odar and Jantje Friese,” Dell’Edera adds. “Their storytelling, direction, combined with Something is Killing the Children… wow! I can’t wait to meet their version of Erica.”