Deadline reports that FX is developing "From Hell," a drama series based on the excellent, sprawling graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell.
The graphic novel was previously adapted into a feature length film in 2001 starring Johnny Depp and Robbie Coltrane. The film veered greatly from the source material and angered writer Alan Moore to the point where he disavowed all dealings with Hollywood.
Don Murphy, who produced the film, is executive producing the new series. David Arata is set to write the adaptation. The Hughes brothers, who directed the movie, are not involved.
"From Hell" tells the tale of Jack the Ripper with the serial killer himself as the main protagonist. Chronicling the events leading up to the Whitechapel killings and the cover-up that followed, the 572-page graphic novel is a meditation on the mind of a madman whose savagery and violence gave birth to the 20th century.
What sets "From Hell" apart from other graphic novels is the fact that it features 46 pages of footnotes in the back that give the story depth and detail. And although a work of fiction, the tale is rooted in historic records, and that attention to detail really shines through at the end of the day.
I listed "From Hell" at #21 on my list of 25 Comics and Graphic Novels That You Should Read. If this show is developed/produced in the same vein of Showtime's outstanding "Penny Dreadful" series then I'm sure FX will have a winner on their hands.
