Cult '90s Graphic Novel Series Heads to TV From I Saw the TV Glow Director — Brace for Visceral Body Horror
Netflix is bringing Charles Burns’ cult body-horror classic Black Hole to the screen, tapping Jane Schoenbrun to lead the adaptation. Expect a fever dream of teen plague, mutations, and suburban dread.
Well, this pairing makes a lot of sense: Jane Schoenbrun, the filmmaker behind I Saw the TV Glow and the eerie internet sleeper We're All Going to the World's Fair, is turning Charles Burns' cult graphic novel Black Hole into a Netflix series. Deadline broke the news on October 23, and Schoenbrun hopped onto social media to confirm it's a passion play.
"Lifelong dream project"
What is Black Hole?
Burns' 12-issue saga follows a group of teens around Seattle in the '70s who catch a strange sexually transmitted infection over one brutal summer. They call it "The Bug," and it doesn't just come with a rash — it warps their bodies in grotesque, often surreal ways. Some grow extra parts. Some shed old ones. Most flee home and form a makeshift camp in the woods. Then it gets worse: a killer starts picking them off. It's a gnarly blend of plague story and coming-of-age drama, digging into the mess of growing up, sexual awakening, and that specific high-school loneliness that feels like it might swallow you whole.
Who's making it
Schoenbrun is developing the show for Netflix. Producing are Plan B's Erin Levy; New Regency's Yariv Milchan, Arnon Milchan, Natalie Lehmann, and Laura Delahaye; plus Burns himself. That's a heavyweight lineup for material that lives or dies on tone — and tone is very much Schoenbrun's thing.
The response so far
Fans immediately clocked the vibe match. One person called it "the most perfect pairing of all time?!?" Another was all-caps levels of excited about Schoenbrun taking it on. A couple of familiar faces chimed in, too: "hiiiiiii I am available just saying!!!!" wrote Stranger Things alum Shannon Purser, while Elijah Wood went full cinephile with "holyfuckingshit! please shoot in b&w!!!"
The long road here
If you're getting deja vu, you're not wrong — people have been trying to adapt Black Hole for years. Here's the quick timeline:
- 2007: David Fincher sets up a feature adaptation, but it spirals into development hell and he eventually walks away.
- At one point, Alexandre Aja circles a version, which also doesn't go the distance.
- February 2018: Another run at a feature is announced with Rick Famuyiwa attached. That one stalls out too.
Why this could finally work
Black Hole needs someone who can juggle queasy body horror and fragile teen interiority without tipping into parody or puritanical panic. Schoenbrun's track record suggests exactly that sweet spot. And with Burns involved as a producer, the odds of retaining the book's uncanny, melancholy pulse just went way up.