Syfy US Takes Russo Brothers ‘Deadly Class’ Pilot To Series
US network Syfy has picked up another comic book adaptation, this one based on Rick Remender & Wes Craig’s ‘Deadly Class’ and being shepherded by ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ directors, the Russo brothers.
The show is a coming-of-age drama set in a high school… except this is no educational establishment. This is Kings Dominion School for the Deadly Arts, the most brutal high school on earth, where the world’s top crime families send the next generation of assassins to be trained. The story is set against the backdrop of late 80’s counter culture, and centres around Marcus Lopez (Benjamin Wadsworth – ‘Teen Wolf’, ‘Dad vs. Lad’), a young boy whose grades suck and is failing ‘Dismemberment 101’. The jocks – who happen to be the children of Joseph Stalin’s top assassin – are hassling his friends, and the girl he’s crushing on has a double-digit body count… At this school, murder is an art, killing is a craft, and the dagger in your back isn’t always metaphorical.
Along with Wadsworth, the cast also includes Benedict Wong (‘Doctor Strange’, ‘Marco Polo’, ‘Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams’) as headmaster of the School for the Deadly Arts, Master Lin. Marcus’s schoolmates include Lana Condor (‘X-Men: Apocalypse’) as Saya, María Gabriela de Faría (‘Yo Soy Franky’, ‘Grachi’) as Maria, Luke Tennie (‘Shock and Awe’) as Willie, Liam James (‘The Killing’, ‘Psych’) as Billy, and Michel Duval (‘Unforgivable’, ‘Queen of the South’) will play Chico.
“We’re committed to developing graphic novels for Syfy and have found a rich, compelling, truly unique world in Deadly Class,” commented Bill McGoldrick, President, Scripted Content, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “Our producing partners expertly combined high school angst, 80s nostalgia and comic flair into a beautifully realized, visually arresting pilot that truly brings Rick and Wes’ acclaimed comic series to life.”
The show will be written and exec produced by original author Rick Remender with Miles Orion Feldsott (‘American Koko’), along with the Russos and Mike Larocca from Russo Brothers Productions. Adam Targum (‘Outcast’, ‘Banshee’) will also EP and serve as showrunner. Lee Toland Krieger (‘Riverdale’, ‘Life Sentence’ ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’) will EP and directed the pilot. Sony Pictures TV Studios will co-produce with Syfy’s sibling company, Universal Cable Productions.
We should point out, just because the show has been picked up by Syfy US, it doesn’t mean it’ll automatically appear on Syfy UK. It’s quite possible someone else will take the international distribution rights, so it could appear on an entirely different channel over here. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
