As reported by a Deadline exclusive, ABC has bought yet another drama project based on Robert Louis Stevenson's infamous Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jekyll & Hyde comes from ABC Studios and, thus far, features producer Mark Gordon and writer Matt Lopez (The Sorcerer's Apprentice). This particular attempt to modernize the classic split-personality tale is set in modern-day San Francisco, centering on a female criminal psychologist who is "drawn into the mysterious world of a brilliant but inhibited scientist and his volatile alter ego." The show is described as suspenseful and darkly romantic and also includes a unique sci-fi twist that, apparently, may be related to cloning.
This is the second Jekyl and Hyde projects in the works. As reported a few weeks ago, the first project purchased by ABC is by Sheldon Turner and called Hyde. That one looks set to focus more on the actual Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde character than this newer project. The main character, who is actually Doctor Hyde, is also the sufferer of the split-personality issues -- and the "split" actually appears in his dreams, rather than a more ambitious literal split personality (although as I mention in the previous article, I think we can expect that dream personality to start spilling over into reality). Now that they've doubled up on Jekyll & Hyde, the number of projects based on classic public domain concepts purchased by ABC is up to four, including Once Upon a Time and Revenge. I'm personally hoping that at least one of the Hyde projects makes it to the small screen, if only to see which version adapted the classic story better -- we'll be keeping an eye on both in the meantime.
