Not to be outdone by itself, apparently, ABC has picked up not one but two new TV show projects based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case Of Jekyll And Hyde. We urge you to take note that one network is making two versions of the same show, as if they are either the biggest Jekyll and Hyde fans that have ever existed, or they’re just way too nice to turn someone down. It’s probably safe to guess that only one of these projects will actually make it to the air, but hey! If one fails, then they’ve got a backup!
One of these shows, written by co-writer of Up in the Air Sheldon Turner, is called Hyde and is said to be a more comedic version of the classic novella in which our protagonist turns into our villain-protagonist in his sleep. Hilarious! I love split-personality sleepwalking stories!
The other show, Jekyll and Hyde, is being written by Matt Lopez (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and is being described as more of a sci-fi/horror show with a romantic element. More details are known about this version, which features a female criminal psychologist in San Francisco who becomes involved with the “brilliant but inhibited scientist and his volatile alter ego.”
So, these are our two contenders for series based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Let’s also not forget that CBS is also producing a Sherlock Holmes series while another one already exists on the BBC and that there are a good six or seven projects based on Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein in the works. Next thing you know, they’ll be doing, like, nine versions of Jules Verne‘s The Mysterious Island to capitalize on all the people still mourning Lost.
(AV Club)
