It’s about friggin’ time. According to the Hollywood Reporter, ABC has given a pilot commitment to Fables, based on Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham’s long-running Vertigo comic. The series follows the ongoing adventures of a community of "fables" — characters from fairy tale and lore of each and every pantheon —living in a secretive enclave of NYC, exiled from their legendary Homelands by the mysterious despot known only as the Adversary. Snow White is the Deputy Mayor of Fabletown, serving under Old King Cole, while Bigby Wolf is the sheriff, and everyone from Little Boy Blue, Prince Charming, Aladdin, Mowgli, and Pinocchio shows up…always in character, but never as you expect them.
I read Fables from the very beginning — it’s still one of the few books I don’t "wait for trade" with — and always wondered why some enterprising TV network hadn’t snapped it up. Granted, I’d have preferred an outfit like HBO, who wouldn’t subject it to the varied whims of commercials and censors. But ABC has done right by Lost, so hopefully they’re onboard for all the fantastical twists and turns and storytelling depth that Fables has to offer — and don’t turn it into Fabletown, 10019.
And, hey, if this works, maybe someone will get the cajones to mount the Sandman…
Anyone else psyched about Fables? What are you most looking forward to in an ABC adaptation? What has you most scared they’ll muck it up?
AWESOME news! Very excited.
You had me at “comic book fatasy”
Sandman a tv series? No!! I am waiting for a Sandman movie with the right director.
I’m excited. My only worry is ABC’s commitment. For every LOST, there’s a Pushing Daisies and Eli Stone. Fables sounds like a show that would need to grow a mainstream audience. ABC’s not real good at that.
yay!
but i hope they give it a good shot.
Nooo!!!! I LOVE this comic book series, but I don’t see how it can translate to network tv well enough to (a) pull in the mega-audience that advertisers apparently require these days, and (b) bring these characters to life while maintaining the integrity of their comic counterparts. Depressingly, the current tv sched tells us that people (or people with Nielsen boxes) aren’t willing to devote time or energy to something whimsical. And that’s what’s so great about Fables.
I’ve never heard of this comic book series, but from this brief description, it sounds very intriguing. I will definitely tune in if/when it shows up on ABC.
I agree with Michelle! I love that ABC has the balls to put on quality shows but they’re quick to cancel it when they dont get the numbers they want. What do you expect? People don’t like quality shows, they like CSI!
So let me get this straight. They cancel “Pushing Daisies” (basically a modern fairy tale) and now they greenlight a series which appeals to the same demo? I HATE ABC and will not watch this show, no more investing in charming, well-written, “quirky” shows on any of the big three networks. I’ll take my chances with offbeat confections on cable networks (See USA’s “The Starter Wife!”) where they are less likely to get the boot.
i love fables the comic. it’s a wonderful series. as a tv show? not sure if it’ll translate well. and ABC cannot be trusted after what they did to pushing daisies!
Not like it matters. Since it’s ABC it’ll probably be gone in a season.
I love the comic, but yeah I gotta say I’m pretty worried about how well this will translate to tv, especially on one of the big 4 networks (although I do think of those, ABC is the best fit for it). Also, yeah a Sandman series would be amazing, but that would seriously only work on HBO. You just couldn’t translate that series into a movie in my opinion.
For those who not read the comic: This is not a charming, quirky comic. The Vertigo imprint is know for thier mature titles. Snow white no longer that frail girl. Her ex, Prince Charming, who has two other ex-wives, personifies all charm, nothing below. Pinocchio is a little angry for staying a boy. And So on. Fable is to Pushing Daisies as Lost is to Guiligan’s Island.
Fables was one of the last comics I gave [for purely financial reasons], and one of the ones I miss the most.
When I heard ABC had ordered a pilot for a TV series, I admit I freaked out just a bit.
I don’t think there’s too much that ABC will have to work around with a Fables series. The violence may get a bit too much at times and the sex is only a problem if the writers aren’t ingenious. Oh… Yeah…
Seriously, there’s so much depth to Fables that ABC shouldn’t have much problem with translating it to TV.
The real problem is whether an audience that stayed away in droves from Pushing Daisies will cotton to “real life” characters from fairytales and mythology.
While I’m really excited for the comic to be exposed to more people, I’m very disheartened that it’s being done by ABC. Not for censorship or commercials, but because of RATINGS. I don’t think this will be wildly successful on TV, despite how creative is it (hello, Pushing Daisies?) and ABC will give it the axe too early. I’m simultaneously thrilled for it’s airing and bummed out for its inevitable premature cancellation.