Netflix to Adapt Charles Burns’ Cult Body-Horror Comic Black Hole for TV — Jane Schoenbrun to Write & Direct

Netflix is adapting Charles Burns’ award-winning comic Black Hole for TV, and writer-director Jane Schoenbrun will adapt the story and direct. The series is being produced by the streamer and Regency, and it will be Schoenbrun’s first TV show.

1. Adaptation details
2. Source material
3. Netflix’s description
4. Past adaptation attempts
5. Production and current status

Adaptation details

The show will be a television adaptation of Black Hole, with Jane Schoenbrun attached as both writer and director. Schoenbrun is known for the films I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, and this marks their first TV series.

Netflix and Regency are producing the project. No release date has been announced so far.

Source material

Black Hole originally ran from 1995 to 2005 across a 12-issue series. Set in suburban Seattle in the mid-1970s, the story follows a group of teenagers who contract a mysterious sexually transmitted disease nicknamed the “Bug.”

The disease causes visible physical mutations — such as tails, extra mouths, and horns — which force the infected teens to become social outcasts. The comic blends teenage anxiety, body horror, and sexual coming-of-age themes, and it is primarily narrated by two high school characters: popular student Chris and neurotic stoner Keith, who harbors an unrequited crush on Chris.

In addition, the series’ collected works have won multiple awards, including the Harvey and Ignatz Awards. Charles Burns himself has received multiple Harvey Awards for his inking, and the work is recognized for its heavy use of ink and a woodblock-like illustrative style.

Netflix’s description

There’s an old myth that haunts the seemingly perfect small town of Roosevelt: If you have sex too young, you’ll contract the ‘bug,’ a virus that literally turns you into a ‘monster’ from your worst nightmares. Absurd, right? That’s what Chris always assumed, until, after one reckless night at the beginning of senior year, she finds herself infected. Now she’ll be cast out to the woods to live with the other infected, where a chilling, new threat emerges: a serial killer who’s hunting them one by one.

Past adaptation attempts

Hollywood has pursued screen versions of Black Hole before, but those efforts never reached release. Previous directors attached to unrealized adaptations include Alexandre Aja (known for Crawl), David Fincher (known for The Social Network), and Rick Famuyiwa (known for Dope).

Production and current status

As of now, the project is in development with Schoenbrun adapting and directing, and it is produced by Netflix and Regency. There is no announced release date, and further casting or production details have not been released yet.

We’ll update when concrete details appear, such as casting, episode count, or a release window.