Amazon Studios nabbed the new horror series “Them”, from executive producer Lena Waithe (“The Chi”, “Dear White People”), and writer and executive producer Little Marvin, reports Deadline. The project, from Vertigo Entertainment and Sony Pictures TV, has received a two-season straight-to-series order.
Written by Little Marvin, the 1953-set “Them: Covenant” centers around Alfred and Lucky Emory, who decide to move their family from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood. The family’s home on a tree-lined, seemingly idyllic street becomes ground zero where malevolent forces both real and supernatural threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them.
“Little Marvin’s script stayed with me for weeks after I read it,” said Waithe. “He’s written something that’s provocative and terrifying. The first season will speak to how frightening it was to be black in 1953. It will also remind us that being black in 2018 is just as horrifying. This anthology series will examine the cultural divides among all of us and explore us vs Them in a way we’ve never seen before.”
Little Marvin executive produces with Waithe, along with Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, and Michael Connolly of Vertigo Entertainment. Sony Pictures TV, which has a deal with Vertigo, is the studio.
“I’ve always felt that dark, surreal times deserve dark, surreal mirrors to show us ourselves,” said Little Marvin. “And at this point in time one of the best ways to examine fractures in our world through the visceral and raw lens of horror. I’m beyond thrilled that our series has found its home with the fine folks at Amazon.”
Watch for casting news as it comes in.