Warner Bros. Animation is resurrecting the tormented vampire Barnabas Collins, with the studio announcing on Friday that it is developing an adult animated series based on the cult classic soap opera “Dark Shadows.”
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Created by Dan Curtis and celebrating its 60th anniversary this summer, the series, which ran from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971, on ABC, starred Jonathan Frid as TV’s original anti-hero and the father of the modern-day vampire story, featuring alluring tales of gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue.
The animated project was announced during a Studio Focus panel at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival as Warner Bros. Animation’s Peter Girardi (Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming) and Shaleen Desai (Senior Vice President, Adult Series) previewed the studio’s current adult animation slate.
According to a logline, the adaptation is an Adult animated series continuing the saga of the Collins family. Blending gothic, horror, and supernatural genres, the upcoming adaptation promises all the dark twists and romantic intrigue that defined the transformative series across its original 1,200-plus-episode run.
Lisa Holdsworth will serve as executive producer and showrunner, with executive producers Cathy Curtis, Tracy Curtis, Eric Homan, Kevin Kolde and Fred Seibert.
The animated TV series adaptation comes more than 14 years after studio sibling Warner Bros. Pictures last attempted to revive the series, albeit as a live-action feature film starring Johnny Depp as the iconic vampire with a conscience, Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and Helena Bonham Carter as the live-in psychiatrist Dr. Julia Hoffman, whom Elizabeth calls upon to help with her family troubles.
You can check out the film’s trailer below.