Chronicle writer Max Landis already has one big horror project on the way, with Victor Frankenstein, based on his script, landing later this year. He’s now teaming up with Hannibal TV writer Nick Antosca for Channel Zero, described as a new scary anthology show.
The series will be based at the US SyFy channel and aims to model itself roughly on American Horror Story by telling one narrative across each season. But unlike Ryan Murphy’s series, Channel Zero – in its first season at least – will be based on an existing story, in this case Kris Straub’s Candle Cove. It spins a yarn about a mysterious 1980s children’s TV series, the show’s role in a string of murders and one man’s dark secret.
Straub’s story originated online as part of the communal creepypasta project, where users share tales and generally try to terrify the living daylights out of each other. Landis, who is already busy as a writer and director, and has a variety of projects on the go, will produce and oversee the show with Antosca, who is handling the writing. “We love the idea of doing seasons of TV like rich, character-driven horror novels, and for Channel Zero: Candle Cove we’ve expanded this great short story Candle Cove into something really nightmarish and haunting and surreal,” Landis and Antosca say in a statement reported by Deadline. “We can’t wait to dig in deeper and bring this to life.” There’s no indication yet of when the show will debut.