The minds behind 13 Ghosts: The Series already have begun making plans to extend the show to multiple seasons, even though Sony has yet to officially green-light the project.
In August 2023, Dead Central revealed a Thirteen Ghosts television series was reportedly in development by Patrick Mediate, Aaron McLane, and Ashley Robinson, all of whom are working with Dark Castle Entertainment.
According to Bloody Disgusting, Sony Pictures Television still owns some of the rights to Thirteen Ghosts, meaning Dark Castle Entertainment needs to get Sony’s approval before production can begin. Sony received the pitch for 13 Ghosts: The Series right before the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes began, meaning conversations between the two companies have temporarily ceased while actors and writers lobby for better wages, protection against A.I., and more.
Despite this, Mediate said they’ve already begun planning an “entire universe” for the series that could extend several seasons, so long as they get the proper sign-offs and renewals.
“We do envision an entire universe for the 13 Ghosts: The Series franchise that lives on eternally after the first season and goes on to explore different planes of mortal and Post-Mortal realities; it’s actually going to be something pretty profound that could be an enormous testament to the worlds we lay the groundwork for with the first season,” he said. “Long and short, this is absolutely going to be a series with stories and three-dimensional characters that fans are going to want to join up with for multiple seasons.”
Thirteen Ghosts: A property that’s been scaring audiences since 1960
Notorious B-movie filmmaker William Castle brought 13 Ghosts to life in 1960. The film, which utilized a unique “Illusion-O” gimmick where audiences received special glasses before walking into the theater allowing them to “see” the ghosts, follows a family as they move into a house only to discover it’s haunted by some unruly spirits who desperately want to be freed.
In 2001, director Steve Beck remade Castle’s film into Thirteen Ghosts (sometimes stylized as THIR13EN Ghosts), which starred Matthew Lillard, Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, and F. Murray Abraham.
The idea behind 13 Ghosts: The Series, Mediate explained, is to give each ghost their own individual episode. “It had always been clear to us that there was so much to be explored in the backgrounds of the ghosts so it’s only natural that we created each episode to explore and examine their origin stories, personalities, plights, and fates,” Mediate said. “These stories act as through-lines that intertwine with the mysterious legacy of Cyrus Kriticos and his present extended family, who have just become caretakers of the Kriticos Compound.”
