'Mortal Instruments: Shadowhunters' Coming to ABC
After a dismal box office performance of "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" in 2013, plans of turning "The Mortal Instruments" series into a multi-film franchise has taken a back seat.
In the last quarter of 2014, rights owner Constantin Film announced that they are bringing back the series, this time to television. Early this week, Constantin Film revealed that ABC Family has made a "straight-to-series order" for the "Shadowhunters" which is based on "The Mortal Instruments" novel series of Cassandra Clare, as reported in The Hollywood Reporter.
"The Mortal Instruments" is a series of six young adult novels. The TV series will follow the story of the main character, a young woman named Clary Fray, who finds out that she is no ordinary human but is in fact a "human-angel hybrid who hunts down demons" or what is called a Shadowhunter.
She has to come to terms with her destiny to join the rest of the Shadowhunters and protect the innocent, while dealing with her mother's disappearance. She is helped along the way by another Shadowhunter Jace and her best friend Simon.
Ed Decter, who is known for his work in "Helix," "Unforgettable," "In Plain Sight" and "The Client List" will be the showrunner for "Shadowhunters." Planning for 13 episodes is on the way and production is set to begin in May in Toronto.
Constantin Film told THR in another report that it made more sense to bring "The Mortal Instruments" to TV.
"There was so much from the book that we had to leave out of the Mortal Instruments film. In the series we'll be able to go deeper and explore this world in greater detail and depth," they stated.
THR also reports that ABC Family President Tom Ascheim is positive that the "big, epic saga will resonate with viewers who come to ABC Family for 'Harry Potter,' 'Hunger Games' and 'Twilight' franchises."
