If you couldn’t get enough of “Get Out’s” winning combination of horror thrills and biting social commentary about racism, you’re in luck. The smash hit’s writer-director, Jordan Peele, has a new project in the works at HBO and he’s enlisted “Underground” showrunner Misha Green to work on the project. She’ll serve as showrunner, producer, and writer on the premium cable network’s adaptation of Matt Ruff’s “Lovecraft Country.” Deadline broke the news.
Published in 2015, “Lovecraft Country” centers on Atticus Black, a 25-year-old man who seeks answers after his father goes missing. “Black joins up with his friend Letitia and his Uncle George to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America to find him,” the source writes. “This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the malevolent spirits that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.”
According to Deadline, “The goal is an anthological horror series that reclaims genre storytelling from the African-American perspective.”
Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions is joining forces with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros Television on the project, which has already received a straight-to-series order from HBO. The network’s faith in the show comes as no surprise. Peele is in high-demand after “Get Out’s” reception among critics and at the box office, where it’s earned over $214 million worldwide on a budget of just $4.5 million. The horror film centers on a black man (Daniel Kaluuya) who meets his white girlfriend’s (Alison Williams) parents for the first time.
“When I first read ‘Lovecraft Country’ I knew it had the potential to be unlike anything else on television,” said Green. “Jordan, J.J., Bad Robot, Warner Bros, and HBO are all in the business of pushing the limits when it comes to storytelling, and I am beyond thrilled to be working with them on this project.”
No word on when to expect the series.
Green co-created “Underground,” a WGN American series that centers on the Underground Railroad. The final episode of the period drama’s second season aired just over a week ago. She’s also written for series such as “Heroes” and “Sons of Anarchy.”
Earlier this month, Vanity Fair asked Green — who is a 32-year-old black woman — if she feels like she has to overcome people’s assumptions when she walks into a room. She responded, “I think people have their assumptions, but I don’t buy into their assumptions. The other day, I was just in a pitch. I walked up, and the person I was introduced to was like, ‘Oh, my God. You write like a man.’’’
Green recalled, “I was like, ‘What does that mean?’ Then he was like, ‘Oh.’ Everybody in the room was like, ‘Oh, no. Uh oh. This is already going horrible.’ I was just like, ‘Well, what does that mean?’ He was like, ‘Just that you’ve got an aggressive — you know.’ I was like, ‘Women can be aggressive, too. In fact I’ve heard they’re some of the most aggressive people, to hear men talk about us.’ I think that I find it all funny, to be honest,” she said. “It’s no secret — I’ve said this before — people have mistaken me for a P.A. on the set. On my own set.”
While Green’s experience is infuriating and disheartening, it’s not all that surprising. And it proves how badly the entertainment industry needs more inclusive leaders — so people aren’t shocked to discover their boss is a woman of color.
Check out an interview where Green discusses what it’s like to be a showrunner below.
