LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven studio and IP business from WEBTOON Entertainment, John W. Hyde and Terissa Kelton’s Rehab Entertainment, and the renowned Jim Henson Company will adapt the supernatural WEBTOON webcomic “Third Shift Society.” Ray Utarnachitt (“DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, “The Tomorrow People,” “Person of Interest”) is attached to write the live-action series based on Meredith Moriarty’s original webcomic.
“Third Shift Society” has over 15 million global views online and has also been published as a graphic novel by WEBTOON Unscrolled. The title was also nominated for a prestigious Eisner Award in 2020 for “Best Webcomic.”
“Third Shift Society” follows Ellie, a normal-seeming young woman, whose world is upended when she meets cursed paranormal detective, Ichabod, who might have the answers she seeks about her latent psychic powers. Ichabod introduces Ellie to the world of the Third Shift, and together they’ll investigate paranormal mysteries involving all things that go bump in the night: ghosts, vampires, witches, even demons... and those are just some of the clients.
Aron Levitz, David Madden and Sera Tabb will produce for Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. John W. Hyde and Terissa Kelton will executive produce for Rehab Entertainment, and Lisa Henson will executive produce for The Jim Henson Company.
Utarnachitt was part of Greg Berlanti's DC Multiverse having been an EP on “DC's Legends of Tomorrow,” with writing credits on “Supergirl” and “The Flash.” He also wrote for “The Tomorrow People” and “Person of Interest”. Utarnachitt is repped by agent Jim Ehrich at Rothman Brecher Ehrich and 3 Arts.
Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and The Jim Henson Company are currently working together on the animated series adaptation of Rachel Smythe’s beloved WEBTOON series “Lore Olympus,” with over 1.7 billion global views. The Jim Henson Company and Rehab Entertainment also have a longstanding partnership on multiple projects in development as well as the acclaimed Apple TV+ series “Harriet the Spy.”
“Just like her global fandoms on WEBTOON, we absolutely fell in love with Meredith’s stunning artwork and the immersive paranormal world she’s built in ‘Third Shift Society’,” said David Madden, Head of Global Entertainment at Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. “With memorable characters, dark humor, and slow-burn mysteries, this is a perfect story to bring to a series format. We’re thrilled to have partners on this project that are as passionate as we are about creating incredible fantasy content, including Ray Utarnachitt, who I'm very happy to be working with again after our time together on 'DC's Legends of Tomorrow.'"
“Meredith Moriarty’s webcomics are wildly original and depict the kind of richly detailed world and characters that we relish bringing to life,” said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. “We are ready to produce a series that this fabulous property deserves.”
“Life’s funny. One minute you’re obsessed with a supernatural webcomic and daydreaming about shipping a quirky, nascent psychic with a smoldering, pumpkin-headed detective, next you’re adapting it into a TV series with some of your favorite creators and producers,” said Terissa Kelton, Executive Vice President & Co-Founder of Rehab Entertainment. “John and I are ready to clock in to the Third Shift with this brilliant team to craft stories filled with mysteries, spooky meet-cutes, and paranormal creatures that only Jim Henson’s Creature Shop can conjure up.”
Wattpad WEBTOON Studios has TV and film projects in development all over the world, including a “Death of a Pop Star” with Oscar winner Diablo Cody and Oscar-nominated producer Mason Novick; “Freaking Romance” with Skybound Entertainment; “Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell” with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment; and “HAWK” with MCU screenwriter Christopher Yost, among many others.
Rehab Entertainment is developing and producing content across all genres and formats. With Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Secret Machine, they are developing a live-action relaunch of “Flight of the Navigator” with Bryce Dallas Howard attached to direct; an untitled horror feature penned by Sehaj Sethi; an adult animated series based on the life and YouTube Channel of Blind Surfer Pete Gustin; a sequel adaptation to the 1986 classic, “Short Circuit”; and a series of TV and film projects based on comic book properties by “Deadpool” co-creator, Rob Liefeld.
In addition to “Lore Olympus,” The Jim Henson Company is also in development on an adaptation of “The Witchlands” book series by Susan Dennard, the recently announced feature film “Grendel” with Jeff Bridges, and a series for Amazon Prime based on the faeries of long-time Henson collaborators Brian and Wendy Froud.
About Wattpad WEBTOON Studios
Wattpad WEBTOON Studios brings together technology, a diverse new generation of creators, and passionate global fandoms to create data-backed, audience-driven TV shows, films, and books. Leveraging incredible stories and insights from WEBTOON and Wattpad’s combined audience of more than 170 million* people, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios has pioneered a bold, global, fan-first approach to entertainment. Wattpad WEBTOON Studios has worked with Netflix, Sony Pictures Television, The Jim Henson Company, Vertigo Entertainment, Constantin Film, Penguin Random House, and many other leaders in entertainment and publishing.
*As of the quarter ended December 31, 2023
About Rehab Entertainment
Rehab Entertainment is a pioneering entertainment company founded by Emmy award-winning producer John W. Hyde and Terissa Kelton. With over 80 feature film and television productions to their name, Rehab Entertainment has been involved in numerous iconic titles beloved by audiences including ”The NeverEnding Story,” ”The Simpsons,” ”Short Circuit,” ”Flight of the Navigator,” and “Masters of Horror.” Rehab Entertainment prides itself on being genre-agnostic and creator-driven with the goal of crafting content that inspire lifelong fandoms.
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 65 years and is recognized as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation. The Company’s most recent credits include the Oscar®-winning Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pinocchio” for Netflix, the Emmy®-winning ”Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” for Apple TV+, the feature film ”The Portable Door” for MGM+, and the upcoming ”Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip” starring Eva Longoria and Cheech Marin for Disney+. Other television credits include ”Slumberkins” and ”Harriet the Spy” for Apple TV+; ”Dinosaur Train,” “Splash and Bubbles,” and “Sid the Science Kid” all for PBS; “Earth to Ned” for Disney+; and “Word Party” and the Emmy-winning series ”The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” both for Netflix. Iconic catalogue titles include ”Fraggle Rock,” “The Storyteller,” the sci-fi series ”Farscape,” and the ground-breaking fantasy classics ”The Dark Crystal,” and ”Labyrinth.”
Headquartered in Los Angeles with additional locations in New York and London, The Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent puppet and creature building group and industry leader in puppeteered digital animation, with international film, television, theme park and advertising clients.
