Looks like Ryan Murphy has some competition! Amazon has picked up THEM, a horror anthology series from The Chi creator Lena Waithe for two seasons.
THEM is set to be a different kind of American horror story, delving into racial oppression in the 1950s. “The first season will speak to how frightening it was to be Black in 1953. It will also remind us that being Black in 2018 is just as horrifying. This anthology series will examine the cultural divides among all of us and explore us vs them in a way we’ve never seen before,” Waithe said at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
Like Get Out, the show will use supernatural elements to create a thriller that works as both as a fictional horror world and as commentary on the real horrors facing the black community. According to reports, horror fans won’t be disappointed. According to the head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke, “My heart was still pounding an hour after I heard this pitch.”
Waithe will serve as EP along with Little Marvin, who will write season 1, titled THEM: Covenant. Waithe has her hands full creating groundbreaking television content. In addition to THEM, Waithe is working on a second season for The Chi and is producing a pilot she wrote about a queer Black girl chasing her dreams for TBS. If this is the start of an entertainment empire, count me in as a dutiful subject.