Genre TV is firing on all cylinders at the moment, and this latest news is the only proof you need: Dario Argento’s classic supernatural thriller SUSPIRIA is becoming a TV series, with the Italian Hitchcock himself acting as “artistic supervisor.”
The show, titled Suspiria De Profundis, is inspired by the 19th century English writer Thomas De Quincey’s eponymous book, which inspired Argento’s 1977 Italian horror film. However, don’t expect any ballerinas in this iteration. In fact, it doesn’t sound much at all like Argento’s film.
According to Screen Daily…
Suspiria De Profundis will be an English-language period horror series in which the author De Quincey is the lead character. Styled as a new Sherlock Holmes, the story will explore psychological fantasies of evil and attempt to solve fearful mysteries. It will be set in London and Rome at the turn of the 20th century.
Argento had this to say: “The extraordinary freedom of expression and creativity that modern TV drama now offers and the interest that the public has shown towards it have encouraged me to take a stab at this new genre.”
SUSPIRIA was very close to getting a traditional remake a few years ago, with David Gordon Green directing and Isabelle Fuhrman in the lead. That fell apart due to – in Green’s words – legal crap.