M. Night Shyamalan Is Bringing Back ‘Tales From the Crypt’ at TNT

The crypt keeper is making a comeback.

TNT announced today it would be relaunching “Tales From the Crypt” as part of a new night of horror set to be curated by “The Sixth Sense” writer-director M. Night Shyamalan. Shyamalan will incorporate both new and old plots into the revamped “Tales From the Crypt,” with classic stories being pulled from William Gaines’ EC Comics, but the Oscar-nominated horror maestro will also executive produce long and short-form storytelling to make up the rest of the programming block.

There’s no word yet on if Shyamalan will be penning or directing any of the episodes himself. The filmmaker broke into TV with “Wayward Pines” last year, directing the pilot episode and executive producing the first season. (While originally planned as a one-off event series, “Wayward Pines” pulled in strong ratings and has thus been renewed for a second season).

UPDATE: Minutes after the announcement, Turner’s Kevin Reilly answered a question at the TCA press tour with regards to “Crypt.” Instead of the new series being just one show, Reilly sees “Crypt” as “an umbrella for what I hope might be many shows […] united under the tales from the ‘Crypt’ brand.” Four different properties are in development so far, and Shyamalan will be directing — likely the first episode. There may also be online, interactive components as part of the franchise. (Reilly declined to state whether or not the series would bring back the iconic Cryptkeeper, seen above.)

Shyamalan said in a statement, “To be part of such a beloved brand like ‘Tales from the Crypt,’ something I grew up watching, and to also have the chance to push the boundaries of genre television as a whole, is an inspiring opportunity that I can’t wait to dive into.”

Originally at HBO, “Tales From the Crypt” premiered in 1989 and ran for seven seasons. The series was based off Gaines’ comics, which launched in the 1950s, but the pay cable interpretation became one of the first horror series to push the boundaries as to what can be expected on TV, in terms of violence, sex and more adult themes. TNT may not have the license to go as far as HBO, but — given what “American Horror Story” has done at FX — it should have no problem frightening (or sickening) late-night audiences.

“Tales from the Crypt” is scheduled to premiere in fall 2016, likely timed to Halloween. The rest of the connected programming will be announced soon.

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