NBC and Sky Living have announced the co-production of Dracula, a provocative new version of the Bram Stoker novel. 

 

Starring Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors, Elvis) in the title role, the reboot will be produced later this year by Carnival Films & Television (Downton Abbey) along with Flame Ventures and Playground.

 

The 10-episode series introduces Dracula as he arrives in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who maintains that he wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. In reality, he hopes to wreak revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier. There’;s only one circumstance that can potentially thwart his plan: Dracula falls in love with a woman who seems to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.

 

Based on a script by co-executive producer Cole Haddon, Dracula will be executive-produced by former president of HBO Films Colin Callender for Playground, Tony Krantz for Flame Ventures, Gareth Neame for Carnival Films & TV (part of NBCUniversal International Television Production), Anne Mensah for Sky, and Universal Television. Reece Pearson from Flame Ventures is also named as co-executive producer.

 

Michael Edelstein, President, NBCUniversal International Television Production, said: “We are delighted that Jonathan Rhys Meyers has chosen this project to return to television and have built an amazing team of producers behind the camera to deliver this extraordinary show. Since 1897, the story of Dracula has captivated readers and viewers alike and this sexy, updated twist also promises not to disappoint.”

 

Mensah, Sky’;s Head of Drama, added: “I am so pleased to be announcing our first-ever co-production with NBCUniversal. Dracula combines the biggest and best talent both in front of and behind the camera and will keep our customers intrigued and enthralled. With its dark, twisted and intelligent script it sets the scale, tone and ambition for dramas on Sky Living.”

 

Dracula is the latest in a series of co-productions embarked on by Sky, with previous projects including Treasure Island and Strike Back.” Sky last year signalled its commitment to original production by increasing its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year on home grown content.