A Day of the Dead TV show is coming to Syfy based on George A. Romero’s classic horror film franchise. Romero’s The Dead franchise began in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead, with Day of the Dead being the third entry in a six-part series. The iconic nature of the franchise has seen multiple reboots and remakes made. Day of the Dead is no different, as the zombie-filled sequel was remade in 2008 by Steve Miner and again in 2018 under the title Day of the Dead: Bloodline. Neither reimagining of Romero’s work was well-received, but Syfy is hoping a TV format can work instead.
As revealed by Variety, Syfy has issued a 10-episode season order to a Day of the Dead TV series that is inspired by Romero’s work. The series is set to follow six strangers trying to survive the first 24 hours of the zombie outbreak, but no cast members have been announced at this time. Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas - the creators and writers behind Raven’s Home - will serve as writers and showrunners on Day of the Dead.
This reimagining of Romero’s work could prove to be a smart move by Syfy if everything works out, as The Walking Dead has proven zombie-apocalypse stories can have long lives on the small screen. With that competition, Day of the Dead is described as “an ode to Romero’s famous flesh-eaters that reminds us that sometimes all it takes to bring people together is a horde of hungry zombies trying to rip them apart.” The series is produced by Cartel Entertainment and HiTide Studios.
The original synopsis for Day of the Dead reads as follows: Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race, but tension inside the base is reaching breaking-point, and the zombies are gathering outside. It was released in 1985 and starred Lori Cardille as Dr. Sarah Bowman, Joseph Pilato as Captain Henry Rhodes, Terry Alexander as John, Jarlath Conroy as William “Bill” McDermott, Richard Liberty as Dr. Matthew “Frankenstein” Logan, and Anthony Dileo Jr. as Miguel.
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Source: Variety