Abbott to adapt French zombie drama

Shameless and State of Play scribe Paul Abbott will adapt French supernatural thriller Les Revenants for the English-language market as part of his first-look deal with FremantleMedia.

Abbott, who signed a development pact with FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) several years ago, will turn Les Revenants into a series called They Came Back (working title). No broadcaster is yet attached.

Les Revenants tells the story of a group of men and women in a small Alpine village in the shadow of a vast dam, who find themselves in a state of confusion, trying to return to their homes. What they do not yet know is that they have been dead for several years, and no one is expecting them back.

Originally developed as a feature film, Les Revenants was adapted for TV by producers Haut et Court for the premium French pay-TV channel Canal+.

Zodiak Media last year acquired distribution and remake rights to the series, known in English as Rebound. It retains these in all territories excluding the US and UK, where FME will work with Abbott’s prodco AbbottVision to develop the project.

“The scripts are a fantastic distillation of the emotional content honed from the film and crafted into a five star TV series, with highly rewarding expansion, suspense and depth,” said Abbott.

AbbottVision exec producer Martin Carr added said there had been fierce international interest in the format. “We are very fortunate to have been able to forge a relationship with Haut et Court through FME to take the series and remake it.”