Per Deadline, AMC is developing a series adaptation of the forthcoming horror novel Gothictown, written by author Emily Carpenter (Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters, Until the Day I Die). The project comes to AMC through the network’s first-look deal with producer Stephen Love’s (The Party, Soul Survivor) Made With Love Media, which acquired rights to the book in a competitive situation and is attached to produce. British-Nigerian writer Abby Ajayi (Hetty Feather, Hollyoaks) will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer.
The novel, an eerie, grounded family horror story, will be published on March 25, 2025. The plot follows Billie Hope, a New York City restaurateur who relocates her family to the quaint town of Juliana, Georgia, drawn by an irresistible offer: a Victorian home for only $100 and a grant to open a new restaurant. The “Juliana Initiative,” designed to revitalize the town post-pandemic, seems like the perfect opportunity for a fresh start and a new business venture.
However, once Billie and her family settle in, an unsettling undercurrent beneath Juliana’s Southern charm starts to creep into her life. While she tries to brush off her suspicions as mere misgivings, the town’s eerie atmosphere and hidden darkness grow impossible to ignore. Billie soon realizes that Juliana might be holding her family captive in more ways than one, and escaping might not be as simple as she thought.
Ajayi is a highly sought-after writer-producer, having earned an Emmy and PGA Award nominations for her work on Netflix’s Inventing Anna. Previously, she developed the limited series The Plot for Hulu/Onyx and Mahershala Ali (Invincible, Ramy), as well as Billy Ray’s (The Comey Rule, The Last Tycoon) crime drama Bobby Meritorious for Paramount+. She also wrote, exec produced and directed episodes of the six-part series The Riches for Amazon and ITV. Additional TV credits include How to Get Away with Murder for Shondaland/ABC, The First Lady for Showtime and Hulu’s series adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral. In features, Ajayi wrote a remake of Curtis Hanson’s (Too Big to Fail, Greg the Bunny) neo-noir thriller The Bedroom Window for StudioCanal and The Picture Company.
Founded in 2019, Made With Love Media is best known for producing the critically acclaimed Netflix sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone, starring John Boyega (Small Axe, Watership Down), Teyonah Parris (WandaVision, Murder) and Jamie Foxx (Million Dollar Wheels, 30 for 30). Among the company’s other upcoming projects is LaKeith Stanfield’s (The Changeling, Atlanta) A24 project, Notes from a Young Black Chef.
Other novels from Carpenter include Every Single Secret, The Weight of Lies and Burying the Honeysuckle Girls.
Ajayi is represented by CAA, 42, and Ziffren Brittenham, along with Love by CAA and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.