Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ long-awaited Dracula miniseries is finally happening, and the BBC is partnering with Netflix to make it a reality. And here’s the best part: Oh yeah, it’s a period piece.
In a press release, the BBC announced that its Dracula three-part miniseries, which was first teased back in 2017, is at long last moving forward. BBC Drama controller Piers Wenger called Moffat and Gatiss’ planned horror adaptation “as clever as it is chilling,” saying their version will re-introduce fans to the classic villain who’s been brought to “life” in countless adaptations. Some good, some bad. And hey, since we never got the Dark Universe version, this seems as good as time as any to bring him back from the dead.
Even though there’s a wide breadth of content to choose from, the three 90-minute episodic series will focus on the Dracula from Bram Stoker’s original novel. Taking place in 1897 (therefore guaranteeing we won’t get a Blade III situation), it’ll center around Dracula, the infamous Transylvanian vampire, as he prepares to take on Victorian London. In a joint statement, Moffat and Gatiss remarked on why they wanted to adapt Stoker’s Dracula for the small screen. “There have always been stories about great evil. What’s special about Dracula, is that Bram Stoker gave evil its own hero,” they said.
This is the latest post-Doctor Who project that Moffat has announced, the previous being a television adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife for HBO. Moffat and Gatiss are serving as showrunners, writers, and executive producers for Dracula, with Sue Vertue from Hartswood Films also coming on as an executive producer. The series will premiere on BBC One in the UK and Netflix internationally. No production or release dates have been revealed yet.