It won’t be long before all of our TVs are glowing with a new Jane Schoenbrun series.
The filmmaker is set to write and direct an adaptation of Charles Burns’ comic book series “Black Hole” co-produced by New Regency and Netflix, which has received a straight-to-series order from the streaming giant. The project will mark Schoenbrun’s first foray into television after directing the acclaimed films “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” and “I Saw the TV Glow.”
News of the series was first reported by THR. IndieWire has reached out to Schoenbrun’s representatives for additional comment.
Published over the course of 12 issues between 1995 and 2005, “Black Hole” tells the story of a group of Seattle teenagers who develop severe genetic mutations after encountering a sexually transmitted disease known as “the Bug.” The material seems firmly within Schoenbrun’s wheelhouse, as the auteur often finds parallels between teenage sexual awakenings and genre film horrors.
The series marks Schoenbrun’s third major project to be announced since the success of “I Saw the TV Glow,” and the auteur will soon be rolling out work in three different mediums.
Their third feature film, “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” is currently in post-production. The film, which follows a director hired to reboot a dated slasher franchise who becomes obsessed with reclusive star of the original movie, stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.
Schoenbrun will also soon release their debut novel, “Public Access Afterworld,” which was originally developed as a TV series that never materialized. Schoenbrun changed course and the novel was acquired by Random House imprint Hogarth, with the author describing it as a conclusion to their loose “screen trilogy” that began with “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” and “I Saw the TV Glow.”
The official synopsis for “Public Access Afterworld” reads: An epic blend of literary fantasy, coming-of-age, sci fi, and horror, “Public Access Afterworld” traces the mysterious transmissions of a secret television network known as Public Access Afterworld that draws in a wide cast of characters, from two teenage best friends in a suburban New York basement to a housewife during the last days of World War II to a young trans content moderator at a YouTube-like corporation, who becomes an unlikely hero capable of rescuing a century of victims disappeared into the broadcast’s signal. “Public Access Afterworld” is a thrilling and profound novel of identity, conspiracy, the secret occult history of American entertainment, and the narratives that guide our lives and shape our world.