Amazon MGM Studios is moving forward with a new television series based on Poltergeist, the iconic 1982 horror film by Steven Spielberg. Amazon MGM had announced its commitment to the project in October of 2023.
This week, the studio confirmed that Kalinda Vazquez and Robbie Thompson would be serving as showrunners, writers, and executive producers for the upcoming series, which will be produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey have also been attached as executive producers. Spielberg cowrote the screenplay for the 1982 film, and he also produced it.
Both Vazquez and Thompson have a track record for films in the speculative and horror genres, the former for Star Trek: Discovery and the latter for Supernatural. Vazquez is also known for her work on Prison Drama, a hit drama from Fox, and on Nikita, the CW espionage series. She also has written for Marvel Comics, and she collaborated with Carlos Gomez on the comic-book series America Chavez: Made in the USA. Thompson was also showrunner for The Winchesters, a prequel series that he originated.
In the 1982 film, Poltergeist narrated the story of a family named the Freelings, who commission a parapsychologist and a spiritual medium to rescue their young daughter who has been kidnapped by the ghosts who are haunting their new suburban home, which had been built atop an old graveyard. The film was inspired by a true story of poltergeist activity at a Long Island home back in the 1950s. Poltergeist was a critical and financial success, having grossed $121 million worldwide, with a budget of just $10.7 million.
Two sequels followed, and a reboot of the film debuted in 2015, none of which achieved much critical or commercial recognition. In the late 1990s, a series titled Poltergeist: The Legacy aired on Showtime and the Sci-Fi Channel.
Other than the personnel announced this week, few details are known about the plot for the upcoming series.
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