TKO Studios, the graphic novel company who publishes comics like the Eisner-nominated Sentient from Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta & WWII sniper book Sara from Garth Ennis and Steve Epting, is bringing their work to the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter brings word that TKO has signed a deal with New Regency, the production company behind The Revenant and Ad Astra, to bring their comics to television. According to the trade New Regency will now have the exclusive rights to develop TV projects from the library of comics and graphic novels published by TKO, a major get for a production company in an IP hungry Hollywood, the only downside being these titles aren’t as well known as your Marvel or DC comics.
“TKO is proud to partner with New Regency,” said Salvatore Simeone and Tze Chun in a statement to THR. “Their track record creating groundbreaking film and television aligns with our history of publishing critically acclaimed thought-provoking genre stories. We feel our companies’ combined strengths make an ideal partnership and forges a new model for TV adaptation that will benefit all parties, including our incredible creators.”
New Regency chairman and CEO Yariv Milchan added that TKO were “innovators and leaders in their field….We have been longtime fans of their exceptional material.”
Though best known for their extensive film library, which includes multiple Best Picture nominees like Little Women amd Bohemian Rhapsody, and even Best Picture winners like 12 Years a Slave & Birdman, New Regency has been trying to break into TV in a big way in recent years. The biggest announcement out of them previously was news of a Mr. and Mrs. Smith TV series that was based on their film and in the works for Amazon. The series has Donald Glover attached to star and write.
Some of TKO’s biggest release so far, which could become TV shows thanks to the new deal, include:
- The Fearsome Doctor Fang – Tze Chun, Mike Weiss (W); Dan McDaid (A) – “In this globe-trotting adventure, a street cop and a treasure hunter pursue dashing Chinese criminal mastermind The Fearsome Doctor Fang. But when they discover Fang is working undercover, our trio must join forces to stop evil from awakening an ancient power…”
- Sentient – Jeff Lemire (W); Gabriel Walta (A) – “When an attack kills the adults on a colony ship, the on-board A.I. VALARIE must help the ship’s children survive the perils of space. Can Valarie rise to the task?”
2020 Eisner Nominee for Best Limited Series