Horror TV series are riddled with a myriad of adaptations: from comics and novels, to anthologies, and  films turned into episodic series. However, horror games receiving adaptations are scarce. While there were rumors of a Resident Evil TV series lurking around the metaphorical dark corner, nothing has stuck yet for the beloved zombie franchise; thankfully, Castlevania will be making it’s season 2 debut–after it’s overwhelmingly successful Netflix season 1 premier–in October of this year, but horror game to TV series adaptations are still a rarity. Thankfully, those of us dying for a horror game title to slither its way into our small screens may be getting just that. Reported by Variety, the cult-classic supernatural horror video-game/novel/screenplay Alan Wake is underway into finding a foothold to be adapted into a TV series!

While not as commercially famous as Resident Evil, Castlevania, Silent Hill or Deadspace, Alan Wake is an innovative psychological horror title with a well deserved following of dedicated fans. Alan Wake took the idea of having an idle flashlight like most horror games, and turned it into an essential weapon to weaken enemies; consequently, this mechanic demanded immersion from the player beyond the simplicity of ammo and health management. Written by Sam Lake (Max Payne series, Quantum Break, and the Max Payne film), Alan Wake emits gameplay vibes similar to that of Silent Hill: Downpour, and emulates similar psychological thrills of the “mentally disturbed writer” trope from the likes of Secret Window and The Shining.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the title, Alan Wake takes place in a secluded lake town with an impressively developed setting and population, coupled with merciless enemies that are guaranteed to be in almost every dark corner you encounter. You use firearms, flares, and your flashlight to dispatch enemies, all while managing your battery supply and ammunition. What’s more, the game presents its levels in an episodic manner similar to a crime/thriller TV series with cinematic cut scenes that emulated shows and movies of the same genres.

With Alan Wake already presented in a similar fashion of a television series–and it’s sequel currently in development limbo–a game-to-TV adaptation seems like an excellent idea when backed by such a passionate team.

The show will be live action, with showrunner and writer Peter Calloway (Cloak and Dagger and Legion) at the forefront of it’s creation; Sam Lake is set as the executive producer; and fan film studio Contradiction Films (Mortal Kombat Legacy, Deadrising Endgame, and Sleeping Dogs) and developer Remedy Entertainment (Max Payne, Alan Wake, and Death Rally) will be helping out with production of the series as well.

While Tomas Harlan of Contradiction Films did not disclose to Variety any details about the show’s plot, the Alan Wake series would not be telling the story of just Alan’s character. The show’s plot is intended to expand beyond both the game and book’s story. Currently, the narrative has been said to focus on stories revolving around characters such as Barry Wheeler (Wake’s agent), Alice Wake, and Sheriff Sarah Breaker.

Development of each character, their in universe role, and their affects on Alan’s life will build up to where the game starts off. Harlan expressed that they were not wanting to immediately start the show in-line with the game’s beginning sequence (depicting Wake as the shadow-monster-killing bad-ass).

Lake has told Variety that the show will also utilize story material they had planned to use for the game’s sequel. Whether this would make the show–and the character arcs it dives into–canon to the game’s respective universe is considered a “spoiler” according to Lake.

Additionally, Harlan–being the driving force to bring Lake and Remedy on board with the idea of the show–is hoping the series will serve as a jumping off point for Remedy and Lake to finally make the long-awaited sequel to Alan Wake. While Lake and co. seem a bit more hesitant to move full steam ahead with the TV series (and the game’s sequel)–due to previous (bad) television series deals (possibly referring to the adaptation of Quantum Break)–he mentioned he’s not completely closed off to the idea.

Calloway, Lake, Harlan and the team will be sending the series’ pitch out to studios in October (with some studios reportedly showing interest already).

As someone who played the game and read the book, I’d personally love for a sequel to come out of this series once Remedy finishes their latest project Control. While video game-to-film and television adaptations have hardly bore commercial or fan success, Castlevania‘s triumph as a Netflix series does provide hope that it’s possible to make a proper (horror) video game-to-TV series adaptation.

Harlan put it best when he spoke to Variety about video games mainly only receiving movie adaptations “How do you take a 10 to 40-hour experience and distill it down to 90 minutes? I don’t think you can.”

On the topic of video games, if you have been cautious on picking up We Happy Few because of the buzz surrounding it’s buggy content, you can check out our review here and decide if the game is worth a shot or not!