Darren Shan horror series optioned for TV adaptation

A best-selling teen book series by Irish horror and fantasy author Darren Shan has been optioned for a TV adaptation.

The Limerick author has announced that his Demonata series, a "fast-paced and bloody" ten-book series set in a universe beset by horrifying demons, is in active development for TV by UK production company Dreamology Pictures.

The series is in active development, according to the announcement from Dreamology, with scripts already being written by co-creators Max Aaron and Ijaz Iqba.

In a statement, Max shared how he and Ijaz "couldn't be more honoured to have been handed the keys to develop 'The Demonata' cinematically for television."

"'The Demonata' books carried both myself and co-creator Ijaz Iqbal through our early to mid teenage years, falling in love with the characters, and envisaging grisly and cosmic scenes years before we finally stepped foot on a film set and made films of our own," he said.

"So to Darren Shan, we say thank you for trusting us, we aim to go above and beyond"

Sharing the news on his website, Darren wrote "it's VERY early in the process, but the pair know the books, they're working on scripts, and they seem very keen to involve me in the process so I think everything is looking bright."

"Over the years, I've always felt that if The Demonata was ever to be adapted, it would need to taken on by creators who had been fans when they were younger, as I think its intricacies would prove too daunting for established industry execs who were coming to it fresh," he continued.

"By which I mean that any would-be adapters will need to know the books inside-out in order to figure out a way of adapting them, to overcome the series' quite complex narrative structure. And Max and Ijaz certainly tick those two boxes!"

Max and Ijaz have shared that they are currently "preparing the groundworks for a season comprised of books 1, 2, and 4 of 'The Demonata'".

These books, 'Lord Loss', 'Demon Thief' and 'Bec', introduce readers to the three series protagonists, Grubbs, Kernal and Bec.

Once a script is written it will be shopped around to studios for production.

Another of Darren's series, 'The Saga of Darren Shan', was adapted into a feature length film, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, in 2009. 

However this is the first time his work has been optioned "to a writer and director who read the books as kids, and who are first and foremost approaching the challenge of adopting them as fans looking to see their childhood dreams realised," he shared on his website.

"It will be interesting to see how things pans out over the months ahead, and if Max and Ijaz's genuine existing love for the series will help them take it forward in ways that a more experienced team couldn't," he said.