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WIRE Buzz: ABC bites into Dracula Brides pilot; GLAAD genre nominees; and more
ABC has succumbed to the wicked allure of vampirism by ordering a pilot episode of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's soap opera that centers on the Brides of Dracula, Variety has confirmed.
Simply titled The Brides, the project, which was originally in development at NBC, is characterized as "a contemporary reimagining of Dracula with a trio of female leads. The show would follow these immortal women and the things they do to maintain wealth, prestige, legacy, and their nontraditional family."
Aguirre-Sacasa is, of course, known for turning Archie-based comics into hit series like Riverdale on The CW and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. He will write and executive-produce The Brides, whose debut episode will be directed by Riverdale and Sabrina vet Maggie Kiley.
Arrowverse alums Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter will executive-produce as well.
Dracula's spouses have popped up several times in pop culture, mainly in the 1960 horror film The Brides of Dracula and 2004's Universal monster mash-up Van Helsing.
Shows like Batwoman and Watchmen have scored major nominations for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, which celebrate LGBTQ+ representation in the world of popular culture.
Batwoman — along with Supergirl, Shadowhunters, and Star Trek: Discovery — is competing in the category of Outstanding Drama Series.
Watchmen, on the other hand, is up for Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series w/o a regular LGBTQ character).
The episode up for a prize is "This Extraordinary Being," which depicts the life of young Will Reeves (Jovan Adepo), aka Hooded Justice, an African-American vigilante fighting against a racist conspiracy in New York City. Reeves, who is the grandfather of Angela Abar (Regina King), was involved in a romantic affair with Nelson Garnder (Jake McDorman), aka Captain Metropolis.
Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling nabbed a nomination for Outstanding Kids & Family Programming thanks to its respectful depiction of a transgender character. Rocko is up against projects like Steven Universe: The Movie and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
In the world of comics, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass and Star Wars: Doctor Aphra are also in the running for Outstanding Comic Book.
For the complete list of this year's nominees, click here.
Further details about Jeffrey Katzenberg's new streaming service, Quibi, dropped at CES 2020 in Las Vegas this week.
For example, we now know that subscribers can opt for the ad-inclusive package, which goes for $4.99 a month. If you don't want to view commercials, though, you can choose the ad-free option of $7.99 per month. The app is set to utilize a unique feature called Turnstyle, "which effectively allows its videos to instantly flip between vertical portrait framing and horizontal landscape framing as the phone moves."
Unlike Netflix or Amazon, Quibi is all about "short-form content" specifically designed for viewing on phones and other mobile devices. The service will contain programming from creatives like Steven Spielberg (Katzenberg's DreamWorks co-founder) and Jeffrey Lieber (co-creator of Lost).
In particular, Lieber co-wrote Don't Look Deeper, a sci-fi project that takes places "15 minutes in the future." Starring Don Cheadle and Emily Mortimer, it was directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) and consists of 14 episodes that add up to two hours of runtime.
"If you’ve got a two shot and someone shifts their weight a little, all of a sudden it’s a single," Hardwicke said at CES. “I could see what the editor was cutting on my phone as she was cutting it. That really helped for seeing how things look on a phone screen.”
Former Hewlett-Packard Enterprise president Meg Whitman is serving as first CEO of the company.
(via Variety & The Hollywood Reporter)
