In 1985, Steven Spielberg created the TV series Amazing Stories for NBC as a weekly anthology series in the vein of classic sci-fi and horror magazines with The Twilight Zone also serving as an inspiration. Spielberg was heavily involved with the stories featured in Amazing Stories, including a first season script that he wrote for director Clint Eastwood.
28 years after Amazing Stories came to an end after only two seasons, the series is back at NBC in a new development deal. Except this time, Spielberg will not have any involvement at all with the new incarnation.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the man stepping in to fill that creative void is Bryan Fuller, the showrunner and creator of NBC’s incarnation of Hannibal. Fuller previously created Pushing Daisies, and wrote several of the best episodes of Heroes.
Fuller is slated to develop the new Amazing Stories, write the pilot script and executive produce the series. Like the original, the new Amazing Stories will maintain its anthology format as it tells “fantastic, strange and supernatural stories.” Fuller is also co-showrunning American Gods on STARZ, based on Neil Gaiman’s classic novel.
Related: Bryan Fuller Describes The ‘Silence of the Lambs’ Season of ‘Hannibal’
The television landscape has greatly shifted since Amazing Stories went off the air. Anthology series are back in style, with American Horror Story, Fargo, and True Detective telling season long stories before resetting the cast every year. The newly signed Netflix original series, Black Mirror has also been hailed as a successor to The Twilight Zone. However, Black Mirror episodes tend to have a bleaker tone than the relatively hopeful adventures of Amazing Stories. There’s more than enough room for both series to explore.
Amazing Stories will likely compete for a space on NBC’s Fall 2016 TV schedule.
Sci-fi and horror fans, which modern day masters of the genre would you like to see contribute to the new Amazing Stories? Share your picks below!
