SYFY greenlights 'Day of the Dead,' 'SurrealEstate' as new 2021 horror series

Get those teddy bears ready for clutching because the 2021 television season is shaping up to be scary good. SYFY has picked up two new series, SurrealEstate and Day of the Dead, which are set to scare the heck out of us all next year.

SurrealEstate follows real estate agent Nick Roman and his elite team of specialists who go above and beyond to sell homes no one else wants to come near. The team works together to research, investigate, and fix up haunted and possessed homes. Wow. We know selling real-estate can be pretty scary, but fixing up literal haunted houses adds a whole other layer of terror into the mix. Can the team create closure (and closings) while trying to get a grasp on their own demons? We'll have to wait and see!

SurrealEstate will be a 10-episode series co-produced by SYFY and Blue Ice Pictures, the independent film and production company behind Netflix's Spinning Out and SYFY's Vagrant Queen. The upcoming series is executive-produced by Lance Samuels and Daniel Iron, along with George Olson, who also serves as showrunner.

There's no word on casting yet, but commence dreamcasting for who's best suited to clear those paranormal pads.

Now, onto show No. 2 ... zombies. They can really scare the skin right off ya.

SYFY is partnering with Cartel Entertainment to bring an ode to George A. Romero's famous flesh-eaters to the small screen in Day of the Dead. The 10-episode series will tell the story of six strangers struggling to survive the first 24 hours of a zombie invasion.

Let's face it, it's hard to imagine six strangers getting along even under normal circumstances these days. Maybe all it takes to put the "team" in teamwork are hordes of undead threatening to literally rip them apart.

Romero's Living Dead films helped to set the standard for Hollywood zombie films, beginning with 1968's Night of the Living Dead. His blend of the macabre and satire helped turn him into the horror legend he is remembered for today. Sadly, Romero passed away at the age of 77 in 2017.

Showrunners Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas will also write Day of the Dead. Stan Spry, Jeff Holland, and Drew Brown are set to executive-produce on behalf of Cartel Entertainment, along with Robert Dudelson, James Dudelson, and Jordan Kizwani from HiTide Studios. Cartel is behind another Romero adaptation, Creepshow, over on the horror streaming service Shudder. These zombies are in some capable hands! 

As soon as we hear of any casting news, we'll be sure to bring it your way. In the meantime, we're going to spend the rest of 2020 getting ready for what's shaping up to be a scary good 2021.

These new projects join a growing slate at SYFY, which already has Resident Alien, Chucky, SYFY WIRE's The Great Debate, and Vagrant Queen debuting soon. They join returning series The Magicians, Wynonna Earp, Van Helsing, and the recently launched late -night TZGZ animation block.