Do you know your Blutbads from your Hexenbiests?
If not, then you may want to brush up on your Grimm lore because NBC’s streaming wing Peacock is planning a reboot movie of the fantasy police procedural horror series that dominated Friday nights from 2011 to 2017 on NBC.
The original series starred David Guintoli as Nick Burkhardt, a cop who discovers he is descended from a long line of Grimms, powerful guardians who are sworn to keep the peace between Wesen (fantastical creatures) and humanity, even if that means occasionally beheading those who step out of line.
The series initially introduced a weekly series of fairytale and fantasy creatures that offered twists on such stories as The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and other familiar offerings published by the Brothers Grimm. However over time, the show spawned its own complex mythology, factions, and unique villains.
“Sometimes you’ll be able to understand what fairytale this is. Sometimes you’ll have to figure it out,” David Guintoli originally told Jennifer Griffin on the show’s premise. “Often the fairytales are not recognizable because they’re applied in a very ‘real world’ sense. The people have to be real. It can’t just be Cinderella and a glass slipper.”
Also starring in the original series were Elizabeth (Bitsie) Tulloch as Nick’s girlfriend Juliette, Silas Weir Mitchell as Nick’s Blutbad friend Monroe, Russell Hornsby as Nick’s human partner Hank Griffin, Sasha Roiz as Sean Renard, the police precinct captain who conceals his Wesen identity, and Claire Coffee as Adalind Schade, initially Nick’s nemesis, and later his lover. Reggie Lee and Bree Turner also starred.
The new project, a made for TV movie, is from the show’s original creative team including co-creators and executive producers/ showrunners David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, in addition to Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner’s Hazy Mills Productions, and Universal Television. Drop Dead Diva creator Josh Berman is onboard as writer on the project.
According to a report from Deadline, the movie shares at least some ties to the original series but will largely be accessible to new viewers not familiar with the show’s complex mythology. In other words, diehard fans and curious newbies can expect new mythology and fresh characters. If the movie proves successful, it may in time, launch a new Grimm franchise.
There is no hint as to whether any of the original Grimm cast will return for the movie.
