The news was announced last year, but now The Mortal Instruments TV show, based on Cassandra Clare's popular YA fantasy book series, has a title (Shadowhunters), a network (ABC Family) and a complete series order, under the guiding hand of previously-announced showrunner Ed Decter (Helix).
Both The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline shared the news, with THR noting that the series order is for 13 episodes; filming will begin in May in Toronto, and neither a premiere date nor any casting has yet been announced.
We actually liked the 2013 film adaptation, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (we liked it a lot!), but it did so poorly at the box office that plans to turn it into a cinematic franchise were promptly abandoned.
ABC Family has high hopes for the series, with network prez Tom Ascheim specifically calling out its appeal to fans of the "Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Twilight franchises." Deadline describes the show as a "spinoff" of the movie, though more accurately it sounds like it'll offer a more in-depth take on the material, which could be exactly the ticket to broaden its appeal:
Based on Clare's bestsellers, the series will reboot the chronicle of the Shadowhunters led by Clary Fray and Jace Wayland in one-hour episodes beginning with the first book, City Of Bones, and expanding into later books as the series progresses.
THR elaborates:
Based on the six best-selling young adult fantasy book series, Shadowhunters follows 18 year old Clary Fray, who finds out on her birthday that she is not who she thinks she is, but rather comes from a long line of Shadowhunters — human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons. When her mother Jocelyn is kidnapped, Clary is thrown into the world of demon hunting with mysterious Shadowhunter Jace and her best friend, Simon. Now living among faeries, warlocks, vampires and werewolves, Clary begins a journey of self-discovery as she learns more about her past and what her future may hold.