Turner turns to Wattpad for writers

Turner-owned US cablenets TNT and TBS have struck a deal with online writing community site Wattpad to foster new talent and content for TV.

M Night Shyamalan

Turner and Canada-based Wattpad, which claims some 45 million members globally, will begin their partnership centred on TNT’s upcoming M Night Shyamalan horror block Tales from the Crypt.

Wattpad members will get the opportunity to have their stories adapted for the TNT strand and the arrangement will be expanded to include TBS.

It’s part of a drive by both companies to tap into fan fiction and uncover new TV writing talent at the same time. Wattpad already has its own studio operation, which coproduces stories for film, television, digital and print.

TBS and TNT’s development teams will review stories from the community with an eye on finding ideas for TV, digital and/or mobile platforms and will work with Wattpad to progress these.

TNT’s Tales from the Crypt is due to debut next year, offering a weekly dose of terror and suspense curated by Shyamalan, the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable and exec producer on FX’s Wayward Pines.