James Wan is a horror movie master, and now he’s going to harness an even greater evil: reality TV. The Insidious and The Conjuring filmmaker has signed a deal to help develop several unscripted shows.
The collaboration will be between Atomic Monster, Wan’s production house, and Truly Original, the company behind Ink Master. The Hollywood Reporter states that several projects are in various stages of development, and cover multiple different subjects. Ingrid Bisu, who’s worked on several of Wan’s films, including The Nun and last year’s Malignant, will producer on behalf of Atomic Monster with Michael Clear. They join Steven Weinstock and Glenda Hersh, CEOs of Truly Original, and Chachi Senior, the head of development.
“I love watching reality TV because, when done right, it can be unfiltered and raw. It’s fascinating to see love, triumph, heartbreak and the entire human experience on display during the most intimate moments in a stranger’s life,” Bisu said in a statement. “It makes one feel less alone when so many of the situations these people find themselves in are extremely relatable. That’s what I want to see more of. James and I are so excited to work with the folks at Truly to turn some of our original concepts into series.”
Atomic Monster has already been involved in a number of shows, including Swamp Thing, Amazon Prime Video’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Netflix‘s Archive 81. Truly Original has enjoyed sustained success with its roster of unscripted programming, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Family Karma, Would I Lie to You?, and Basketball Wives among its hits.
None of this is to suggest Wan won’t still be directing blockbusters. He’s currently working on Aquaman 2 for the DCEU, and put out the surprise hit monster movie Malignant in 2021. He’s producing Insidious 5, and the remake of Salem’s Lot, which is slated to come out later this year.
We’ll have to wait and see what kind of reality television takes his fancy. Maybe it’ll be a cooking show, those are great, or perhaps an American spin on Four in a Bed. Have a look at the best Netflix series if all of this has you wanting a good binge.