CBS All Access has announced a straight-to-series order for Tell Me a Story, an edgy fairy tale thriller from Kevin Williamson.
Based on a Spanish format, Tell Me a Story reimagines and reinterprets classic fairy tales through the lens of a psychological thriller, with the first season set to interweave The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack and the Beanstalk using themes of love, loss, greed, revenge, and murder.
This marks the first fairy tale drama since the 2011 debut of both Once Upon a Time and Grimm. Tell Me a Story is also the latest in a long line of upcoming projects for CBS All Access, which is looking to solidify itself as a place for premier scripted content. After debuting Good Wife spinoff The Good Fight, the latest Star Trek series in Discovery, and Will Ferrell comedy No Activity, the subscription service has Strange Angel, about a man in 1940s Los Angeles who works in rocketry by day and performs sex magic rituals at night; thriller $1, set in a small rustbelt town in post-recession America; and a Twilight Zone revival executive produced by Get Out‘s Jordan Peele all in the works.
Williamson’s extensive television credits include creating The Vampire Diaries, The Following, and Dawson’s Creek, as well as executive producing the Scream series adaptation based on the film franchise he built. He has prior history with CBS through Stalker, a drama that starred Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott and lasted one season.
