HBO Orders Maniac Cop Series Adaptation From Drive Director

Nicolas Winding Refn is tackling the 1980s horror franchise Maniac Cop in a new series adaptation for HBO. Deadline reports that the cable network has ordered the reimagining of the film series from Refn, best known for Drive, and John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration).

Both of the two will executive produce the series, with Refn serving as showrunner. The series is described as follows:

“Set in Los Angeles, Maniac Cop is told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue – is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force?”

Maniac Cop starred Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Robert Z’Dar, and Sheree North. It centered on a murderous ex-police officer returned from the dead and seeking revenge on the people who wronged him, who is pursued by his former co-workers.

“I’ve always been a devoted admirer of John Hyams,” said Refn. “We’ve been talking about a re-imagining of the Maniac Cop films for a number of years, but as we continued to work on the material, we found ourselves wanting to explore the world we were creating in greater depth. Turning Maniac Cop into a series will allow us to realize our wildest ambitions and to reach an enormous audience though partners HBO and Canal+. This show will be an unadulterated, action-packed horror odyssey. Given the current state of the world, though, Maniac Cop will also be a strong commentary on the decline of civilization.”