A televised adaptation of the Canadian horror film series Ginger Snaps is being developed by Sid Gentle Films, the production company whose most recent projects include Killing Eve and The Durrells in Corfu, as reported by Deadline. Company founder Sally Woodward Gentle has been named as one of the executive producers, along with Sid Gentle managing director Lee Morris (SS-GB, Dangerfield), Deadline reports. Anna Ssemuyaba (Upload, Guerrilla) has been attached as the writer on this transatlantic television re-interpretation of the teen werewolf franchise, according to Deadline. Ssemuyaba confirmed her involvement with the project via Twitter.
Cult film blog House of Self-Indulgence describes the story of the first Ginger Snaps film as follows: “Two teenage sisters… obsess[ed] with death… plan on committing suicide in the near future. However, this… gets postponed when Ginger (Katharine Isabelle, American Mary) starts growing hair in weird places, bleeding vaginally, and ends up sprouting cute little tail after she’s attacked in the woods by a mysterious creature.” Psycho Drive-In praised the movie for its creative central metaphor: “This film does a nice job tying puberty and menstruation into all the other bloody business of being a werewolf.”
The Toronto-based film studio Copperheart Entertainment, who produced the original Ginger Snaps trilogy, is involved in the adaptation as well, Deadline reports. Copperheart founder Steven Hoban (A Christmas Horror Story, Darknet) is member of the executive producer team, along with Clark Peterson (Monster, Ideal Home) from Remstar Studios, according to Deadline. The fifth executive producer is the director of the first Ginger Snaps film, John Fawcett (Orphan Black, Xena: Warrior Princess), as reported by Daily Dead.
Hoban and Peterson reportedly attempted to co-produce a twelve-part hour-long drama with another modern horror icon, Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Nightbreed) in 2015, as reported by C21 Media. The show, entitled Incarnate, was allegedly described by Barker as “X-Men meets The Exorcist,” according to Palatin Media CEO Bernd Schlöttere (Spides, Maiden Voyage).
Ginger Snaps has achieved cult classic status in the time following its initial release, and fans celebrated the twenty-year anniversary of its festival debut back in August. In a recent interview with SaltWire, Fawcett spoke about how enthusiastic he was about reflecting the contemporary era in the upcoming series: “What I’m excited about is the concept of reinventing it and modernizing it and making it relevant to viewers today. Ginger Snaps has always had this lasting quality.”
All three films in the Ginger Snaps trilogy are currently free to stream on Tubi TV. Additionally, the seminal first installment in the series is available in discount Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack from Shout Factory, featuring multiple commentary tracks, deleted scenes, screen tests and exclusive footage from a Women in Horror panel discussing the film’s many feminist attributes.