Michael J. Fox, better known for his days as Alex Keaton on ‘Family Ties’ and Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, starred in a small film in 1985 called Teen Wolf, a film about a high school basketball player who turns into a werewolf during his “transition” through puberty. Nearly 25 years later, MTV has announced that a television series, based on the film, is in the works.
Last January, the network announced the project as part of a development slate. After a script was written, MTV asked for a pilot to be produced.
With popular shows as ‘The Hills’ and ‘Laguna Beach’ gaining most of the network’s audiences, MTV’s version of ‘Teen Wolf’ will be “very different from the original” says senior VP Liz Gateley. The series will be set in high school, draw more from the horror genre by exploring werewolf mythology and will include a romantic plot line. The series will have absolutely no connection to the short-lived 1986 animated series whatsoever.
The script has been written by Jeff Davis, creator of the series ‘Criminal Minds,’ who will help produce alongside Marty Adelstein and Rene Echevarria, who produced TV’s ‘Prison Break’ and ‘Castle’ respectively.
So far, a slew of 80’s cult films have been suggested to become television series on broadcast television. Among them is NBC’s upcoming ‘Parenthood’, based on the 1989 Steve Martin film of the same name, and developing series’ such as ABC’s ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ and and Fox’s ‘Heathers.’
Eric Hatch