Now this is an interesting combination: Deadline reports that Netflix won a bidding war for an adaptation of Charles Burns‘ graphic novels “Black Hole” and will give it a straight-to-series order. But it’s who will create, adapt, and helm the show for the streamer that will raise eyebrows here: “I Saw The TV Glow” director Jane Schoenbrun.
Running from 1995-2005, Burns’ “Black Hole” is considered classic of the graphic novel format, an eeries tale about adolescence, STDs, and serial killings set in an alternative 1970s Seattle. Hollywood has wanted to adapt “Black Hole” since Pantheon Books collected the series in book format in 2005, with directors as diverse as David Fincher, Alexandre Aja, and Rupert Sanders once attached. The most recent attempt came in 2018 courtesy of Brad Pitt‘s Plan B banner, with “Dope” director Rick Famuyiwa involved, but those plans fell through as well.
Now Netflix and Schoenbrun take the reins, with Plan B still involved as executive producers, with New Regency heading the new package. Other executive producers include Erin Levy, Burns, Yariv Milchan, Arnon Milchan, Natalie Lehmann, and Laura Delaheye.
Here’s a brief synopsis of “Black Hole” for your perusal: “There’s an old myth that haunts the seemingly perfect small town of Roosevelt: if you have sex too young, you’ll contract the “bug,” a virus that literally turns you into a “monster” from your worst nightmares. Absurd, right? That’s what Chris always assumed, until, after one reckless night at the beginning of senior year, she finds herself infected. Now she’ll be cast out to the woods to live with the other infected, where a chilling, new threat emerges: a serial killer who’s hunting them one-by-one.”
“Black Hole” is New Regency’s latest addition to their TV show lineup, after Prime Video‘s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” the Disney+ “Malcolm In The Middle” limited series reboot, and “Man On Fire” for Netflix.
As for Schoenbrun, the new series will be their next project after they wrap work on their follow-up to “I Saw The TV Glow,” entitled “Teenage Sex and Death At Camp Miasma.” That’s another Plan B joint, co-produced with Mubi, and stars Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder. There’s no word yet on when that film will be ready for a festival premiere, but it did shoot last summer, so maybe it’ll hit Sundance next January like Schoenbrun’s last two films. Schoenbrun also has their debut novel, “Public Access Afterworld,” ready for bookstores on March 5, 2026.
But is Schoenbrun the right person to adapt Charles Burns’ work? On paper, it doesn’t feel like the right match of sensibilities, but let’s see what happens.
