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Guillermo del Toro Horror Anthology Series Ordered By Netflix
Guillermo del Toro is putting his Oscar wins to good use by launching a horror anthology series at Netflix titled 10 After Midnight. The filmmaker has often struggled to get his passion projects off the ground, with At the Mountains of Madness and Hellboy 3 being the most infamous examples. However, since picking up Best Picture and Director wins for his girl-meets-fishman tale The Shape of Water at this year's Academy Awards, del Toro has been spending his newfound capital to get some of his more unique ventures up and running.
Following his Oscar victories, del Toro has launched a sci-fi, fantasy, and horror label at Fox Searchlight to fund idiosyncratic genre films in the same vein as Shape of Water. He's also gotten funding for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, with André Řvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) bringing Alvin Schwartz's traumatizing books to life from a script cowritten by del Toro. Now del Toro is reuniting with Netflix to launch the streamings service's first proper horror anthology project.
According to Netflix's press release, Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight will feature "a collection of personally curated stories, that are both equally sophisticated and horrific". The series will featured episodes written and directed by del Toro, who's also the show's creator and head executive producer. Although neither an episode count nor premiere date has been announced at this juncture, it's confirmed that del Toro will hand-pick the writers and directors to bring his various original stories to life on the small screen.
Netflix and del Toro already have a working relationship thanks to Trollhunters, the third season of which launches next Friday, May 25. 10 After Midnight sound decidedly more adult than the kid-friendly Trollhunters and may be on the level with del Toro's FX vampire series The Strain, when it comes to violence and mature content. That will come as welcome news for those who prefer their del Toro offerings on the darker side, a la Shape of Water, Crimson Peak, and Pan's Labyrinth.
10 After Midnight should have more in common with Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror than American Horror Story and Channel Zero, as far as anthology series go. The description suggests every episode will reflect del Toro's recurring interests as a storyteller, especially his deeply-felt love for monsters and supernatural horror. It will certainly be interesting to see what del Toro's stories are like when filtered through another director's style and voice.
