Netflix is adapting Si Spencer’s mind-bending graphic novel Bodies into a series.
Deadline revealed on Monday that the streaming giant has greenlit a British crime thriller adaptation of Bodies, an eight-part series created by No Offence and Torchwood writer Paul Tomalin.
First published by Vertigo/DC in 2014, Bodies is an eight-issue graphic novel that follows four detectives, four time periods, and four dead bodies – all set in London. The graphic novel starts with a murder in Whitechapel and four detectives try to solve the mysterious case in four different time periods.
These detectives are Edmond Hillinghead, an 1890s overachiever with a dark secret; Karl Whiteman, a dashing 1940s adventurer with a shocking past; Shahara Hasan, a kickass 2014 female Detective Sergeant who walks the line between religion and power; and Maplewood, an amnesiac from post-apocalyptic 2050 who brings a haunting perspective to the investigation. Together, the four set out to uncover a conspiracy spanning 150 years.
The four different eras featured in the graphic novel represent four different genres of murder mystery: the classic Victorian detective saga, the World War 2 era detective noir, present-day urban police drama, and dystopian science-fiction.
Beat director Marco Kreutzpaintner is directing the new Netflix series with further episodes to be helmed by Haolu Wang. Danusia Samal is writing the series alongside Tomalin, who is also exec producing with Kreutzpaintner and Moonage Pictures founders Will Gould and Frith Tiplady.
Casting and filming details for Bodies have yet to be announced.
Bodies’ series pickup comes as Netflix places renewed focus on British originals. Just last month, Deadline revealed that the female-led action-adventure series Palomino from The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures is coming to Netflix. The streamer also unveiled a slate of five shows including Rapman superhero drama Supacell and an adaptation of David Nicholls’ One Day towards the end of last year.
Who was Si Spencer?
Spencer was a British comic book writer and TV dramatist and editor. A frequent collaborator of Dean Ormston, Spencer had works featured in British comics such as Crisis and American publishers like DC Comics under their Vertigo imprint. On the TV front, Spencer worked as a writer in the British series Grange Hill, Holby City, EastEnders, and The Bill. Spencer passed away in February 2021 at the age of 59.