While Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments struggled in theaters, Constantin Film is hoping that TV will be the better medium for the series. Now titled Shadowhunters, the TV version will air on ABC Family.
The cable network announced today that it has put in a straight-to-series order with 13 episodes. That will give Constantin and showrunner Ed Decter (Helix, The Client List) plenty of room to build storylines.
No casting has been set and there is no target premiere date.
“I’m excited to see ABC Family bring the world of the Shadowhunters to life,” Clare said in a statement. “As a huge fan of long-form television drama, I can’t wait to see the story unfold and for the fans to have more time with the world and the characters.”
Shadowhunters centers on Clary Fray, an 18-year-old who discovers that she isn’t who she really thinks she is. Instead, she’s a human/angel hybrid who is supposed to hunt demons. Her mother’s kidnapping sets up her journey with her best friend, Simon.
Constantin’s first swing at the series was a miss. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, which starred Lily James as Clary, was a flop and production on a sequel was delayed. While the studio had said it would work on a sequel, that never happened. Instead, Constantin set to work on a TV series.
Production on Shadowhunters starts in Toronto in May.