‘Judge Dredd: Mega-City One’ TV Show In Development

Judge Dredd is headed for the small screen with a new series entitled Judge Dredd: Mega-City One from IM Global Television and Rebellion.

Judge Dredd 2012A television series based on Judge Dredd is in early development. Criminals everywhere are screaming “Drokk!” accordingly.

Entertainment Weekly has exclusively broken the news that Judge Dredd: Mega-City One is being made by IM Global and Rebellion, with IM’s Mark Stern (Battlestar Galactica, HelixDefiance) and Rebellion’s Jason and Chris Kingsley serving as executive producers. A poster outlining the show’s premise was also released:

Judge-Dredd-Mega-City-One

The Judge Dredd franchise is based around the concept of a dystopian future years after nuclear war has reduced much of the United States to cinders. Several surviving cities on the east coast are merged together into a single, massive state to form a massive metropolis that is governed by Judges. The justice system has been heavily revised so that fair and speedy trials are a thing of the past – these super-police serve as judge (obviously), jury, and executioner as they deal swift verdicts on any who would violate the law. The show will be an ensemble drama concerning the efforts of the title character and his fellow Judges as they confront every criminal that the 22nd century can throw at them.

Aside from offering sci-fi action, the comic series is known for its social satire and exploration of how far the law can go – and raises questions about the nature of police brutality and whether or not additional security is worth sacrificing freedom for. Stern commented that part of the reason they’re adapting the series into a show has a lot to do with these themes:

“This is one of those seminal sci-fi properties that seems to only become and more relevant with age. Not only is it a rich world with biting social commentary, but it’s also fun as hell! As a fan of the comics and both films, it’s a dream come true to be able to work with Jason and Chris in adapting this for television.”

In addition, the Kingsley brothers also issued a statement thanking fans for their continued support of the series:

“Thanks to the legions of fans who have kept up pressure on social media, and a lot of background work and enthusiasm, we aim to make a big budget production that will satisfy both our vast comics audience and the even greater general screen-watching public.”

There’s no word on whether or not this show will have anything to do with 2012’s Dredd, which was a more faithful – if grounded – take on the character than 1995’s Judge Dredd (which, conversely, was more colorful and featured more of the futuristic aspects of the setting). However, given that the people working on the show on the Rebellion end of the equation helped pitch in on the 2012 cult classic, it can be assumed that elements from the better-received take on the character will be utilized if nothing else.

Source: Entertainment Weekly