Judge Dredd comes to TV

Karl Urban as Judge Dredd in the 2012 movie

US producer and distributor IM Global Television has teamed with a European games developer to bring the world of Judge Dredd to television.

A joint venture between film studio IM Global and Chinese firms Tencent and Tang Media Partners, IM Global Television has partnered with Rebellion in the UK on the deal.

Drama series Judge Dredd: Mega-City One will be based on the character from the legendary British comic book 2000 AD, which is marking its 40th anniversary this year.

The show will follow a team of 22nd-century cops invested with the powers of judge, jury and executioner.

IM Global TV president Mark Stern will executive produce along with CEO Stuart Ford and Rebellion founders Jason and Chris Kingsley. The latter duo previously worked on the 2012 feature-film adaptation Dredd, which was co-financed by Reliance Entertainment and IM Global.

Stern said: “This is one of those seminal sci-fi properties that seems to only become more relevant with age. Not only is it a rich world with biting social commentary, but it’s also fun as hell.”

Jason and Chris Kingsley added: “We’re very excited to be beginning the journey to get more of Judge Dredd’s Mega-City One on the television screen.

“Thanks to the legions of fans who have kept up pressure on social media, and a lot of background work and enthusiasm, we aim to make a big-budget production that will satisfy both our vast comics audience and the even greater general screen-watching public.”

Tang Media Partners took a controlling interest in IM Global in June last year.