SIKTC is put into development at Netflix with Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan set to co-write and executive produce.
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, the German husband and wife duo and creators of hit Netflix series Dark and 1899, were tapped to develop the series adaptation after creative differences resulted in the project being temporarily shelved.
James Tynion IV posted an image of the script for episode 2 on his Instagram, titled The Princess and the Warrior.
The comic adaptation is the first project that will come from Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese's freshly-renewed overall deal with the streamer.
Something Is Killing the Children, the popular comic by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’edera published by Boom! Studios, is getting another shot at an adaptation from Netflix.
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, the German creators of buzzy cult series Dark and 1899, have been tapped to develop a series adaptation of the comic, one of the biggest titles being published outside DC and Marvel.
Bo Odar and Friese will write, showrun and executive produce should the project get the greenlight. They will also direct the pilot. Boom!’s Stephen Christy and Ross Richie will executive produce the adaptation. Tynion and Dell’Edera will co-executive produce.
Children’s first story arc told of a town plagued by monsters that feast on children, with one teen survivor telling tales that no adult believes. Into this setting enters a mysterious young woman named Erica Slaughter. The woman, who occasionally converses with her stuffed animal, isn’t there to mince words but rather to mince monsters. The comic then opened up its world, focusing on the monster-killing cabal and the its sinister politics.
Debuting in September 2019, the comic was a hit that kept growing. The first issue has sold over 175,000 issues over the course of multiple printings while the comic has sold over 2 million since launch, a rare feat in modern publishing not just in the indie comics world but even with Marvel and DC factored in. A spinoff book, House of Slaughter, also written by Tynion, was launched and is also a top seller.
The comic was previously in development with Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan, the team behind The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, who came on board in 2021. Creative differences sunk the project. The duo had a first-look at Netflix at the time but after series The Midnight Club failed to connect in fall of 2022, they decamped to Amazon in December.
