Warner Bros. Animation is positioning this as a prestige creative opportunity, bringing gothic horror storytelling to adult animation audiences with an accomplished showrunner at the helm.
Insiders note that Dark Shadows has been a dormant IP for years despite periodic attempts at revival—sources say multiple studios circled the property before WBA finally locked down development rights.
The original series ran 1,200+ episodes on ABC from 1966-1971. The Tim Burton 2012 film starring Johnny Depp grossed $245 million worldwide against a $150 million budget—a commercial success that kept Collins family rights attractive.
WBA clearly sees adult animation as its growth engine after past stumbles in the space, and Dark Shadows—with its built-in supernatural mythology—gives them a ready-made IP with proven cross-generational appeal. Whether this rises from the grave triumphantly or joins other undead studio projects remains to be seen.
Warner Bros. Animation is digging up the dead—and giving them a very adult makeover. The studio announced Thursday that it's bringing back Dark Shadows, the beloved Gothic soap opera from the 1960s, as a new animated series targeting mature audiences. The original show, which aired weekdays on ABC from 1966 to 1971, became one of daytime television's first cult hits thanks to its tortured vampire antihero Barnabas Collins and his supernaturally dysfunctional family—and now that legacy is getting a modern resurrection. Lisa Holdsworth has been tapped as executive producer and showrunner for the animated revival. She's best known as creator of Channel 4's Dreamers and brings substantial prestige television credentials, having written for Sky's Discovery of Witches and BBC's Call the Midwife. She'll be joined in the executive producer ranks by Cathy Curtis, Tracy Curtis, Eric Homan, Kevin Kolde, and Fred Seibert—a group that blends legacy family connections to Dan Curtis's original creation with seasoned animation industry veterans. The official log line teases "all the dark twists and romantic intrigue" from the original 1,200-plus episode run, blending gothic horror and supernatural genres into what WBA promises will be a faithful continuation of the Collins family saga. The project was unveiled during Warner Bros. Animation's studio focus panel at Annecy, where Peter Girardi (executive vice president of alternative programming) and Shaleen Desai (senior vice president of adult series) previewed their broader adult animation slate. The timing is significant—WBA has faced scrutiny over its animated offerings in recent years, and this announcement signals a clear pivot toward IP-driven projects with proven cult followings rather than original concepts still searching for an audience. The Dark Shadows brand carries considerable commercial weight beyond television. Tim Burton's 2012 feature film adaptation starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard pulled in over $245 million worldwide against a reported $150 million budget, proving the property has mainstream movie appeal even decades after the original series ended. That theatrical success kept the franchise attractive to studios hunting for recognizable IP with built-in fanbases—and now Warner Bros. is betting that animated format will let them explore darker territory and longer-form storytelling that the PG-13 film couldn't attempt.
