Resident Evil: The TV Series?

This is an interesting little rumor/speculative story.  It’s no secret that “Resident Evil” has managed to remain a profitable property despite some questionable movies and some misfires with the game series.  Over the years the zombie game has found life in books, animated films, live action features, and comic books.  Now it looks like it could be heading to your television.

Bloody-Disgusting learned that Mance Media, a production company that “acquires licenses, co-produces and co-finances a wide-range of programming”, is possibly pursuing a television series based on the “Resident Evil” property.  On Mance Media’s page they feature a pitch for a series titled “Arklay”, a name that should be familiar to “Resident Evil” fans.  On the page they also offer a pitch for the series, which you can read below:

Inspired by the Resident Evil franchise, ARKLAY is a new scripted survival horror series that delves into the mysterious homicides of Raccoon City.

When Detective James Reinhardt is thrust into a series of bizarre homicides, he unravels the city is hiding a dark conspiracy. Learning a fatal virus is connected to it all, Reinhardt discovers it’s already coursing through him. With time no longer on his side, he must solve the conspiracy to save his own life.

Given the prevalence of horror on television these days, it stands to reason that one of the more successful horror franchises of recent history could find its way to television.  There’s a lot of potential for a “Resident Evil” series as they can tap into the some of the unexplored mythos of the series.  For example, there was plenty of corruption and suspicious activity happening in Raccoon City before the initial outbreak.  It’d be cool to see someone actually investigating those outliers and have them try to put it together.

And for those that are sick of seeing zombies, the “Resident Evil” series is known for having a wide variety of creatures that they could utilize to keep things fresh.  Imagine seeing the spiders, hunters, or lurkers hiding in the Arklay mountains.  Whether or not those would be feasible for a TV series is another matter, but the potential for unique monsters is there.

Either way, this seems to solely exist as an idea and I imagine it would take a few companies coming together for it to actually happen.  It might be awhile before we hear more about it, but a cursory glance at the internet seems to indicate that there is fan interest and that might be a key motivator in all of this.

For now, check out the pitch reel below. Remember, pitch reels use footage from other shows/films to give you an idea of what they’re aiming for.

~horror-movies.ca