Let the Right One In: Demian Bichir to star in TV adaptation for Showtime

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Based upon the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In stands as one of my all-time favourite vampire movies, and the story is slated to make the leap to the small-screen as Showtime has given a pilot order to a TV series based on the novel.

Let the Right One In will center on a "father and his 12-year-old daughter whose lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive." Demian Birchir (Godzilla vs. Kong) has signed on to star as the father as well as produce the series. Andrew Hinderaker (Penny Dreadful) will pen the script and serve as showrunner, with Seith Mann (Blindspotting) directing the pilot. In a statement, Showtime's Executive Vice President of Scripted Programming Amy Israel said:

Let the Right One In quickly establishes itself as a thrilling, high-stakes drama that asks the question: How far would you go to save your child from the monsters out there — would you risk becoming a monster yourself? Demián Bichir is one of the world's most dynamic and engrossing actors, and his charisma and vulnerability will surely bring Andrew Hinderaker's exquisite script to life, guided by Seith Mann's deft direction. We couldn’t be more excited about the potential of this show.

Andrew Hinderaker added, "The series is both a love letter to the original film, and a story entirely our own. And casting a true artist like Demián epitomizes our bold aspiration to be one of the most terrifying shows on TV, and one of the most moving." In the original novel, Eleanor/Eli has been a vampire for centuries rather than just ten years, and her "father" is actually a pedophile who is obsessed with her. Yea, I can see why they might not want to build a series around that. Following the American remake (Let Me In) in 2010, the TV adaptation of Let the Right One In was being originally developed for A&E in 2015, but the project later moved over to TNT where a pilot was ordered and cast, but ultimately didn't move forward. Here's hoping they have better luck this time around.