Jordan Peele is taking his unique brand of horror to HBO.
The writer and director of “Get Out” will be the executive producer behind “Lovecraft Country,” a just ordered drama series based around a Matt Ruff novel about a 1950s road trip through the Jim Crow South.
‘Lovecraft Country’ is more of a social thriller/horror/sci fi/ based on Matt Ruff’s book; the amazing @MishaGreen will helm the show! https://t.co/xGuRpVj8Gj
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) May 16, 2017
On his website, Ruff describes the 2016 novel this way:
Chicago, 1954. When his father goes missing, twenty-two-year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Samuel Braithwhite—heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors—they encounter both the mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.
Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal, the Order of the Ancient Dawn—led by Braithwhite and his son Caleb—which has gathered to perform a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his—and the whole Turner clan’s—destruction.
A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism—the terrifying specter that still haunts us today.
J.J. Abrams is signed on as another one of the show’s executive producers, but it’s Mischa Green, creator of the period drama series “Underground,” who will be running things.
“When I first read ‘Lovecraft Country’ I knew it had the potential to be unlike anything else on television,” Green said in a statement provided to Deadline.
“Jordan, JJ, Bad Robot, Warner Bros and HBO are all in the business of pushing the limits when it comes to storytelling, and I am beyond thrilled to be working with them on this project,” she added.
https://twitter.com/MishaGreen/status/864617336464166913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fjordan-peele-hbo-jim-crow_us_591c9c63e4b03b485cae2b34
Peele has become one of the hottest stars in entertainment following the success of “Get Out,” a surprise success of a racially charged horror film that has pulled in a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and more than $200 million at the box office.
He recently signed a deal with Universal Pictures to write and direct another “Get Out”-like film and produce many others. That’s good news for all of us.