'Thirst': HBO Is Developing A Hip-Hop Vampire Drama Series
This week in "projects that sound like they've been put together through a game of Mad Libs," we've got a hip-hop vampire drama that is in the works at HBO. Yes, you read that right. Titled Thirst, the original supernatural drama series comes from Macro Television Studios and former Empire writers Leah Benavides Rodriguez and Carlito Rodriguez, and tells the story of a cocky Atlanta rapper who discovers that hip-hop's hottest group is actually a secret cabal of vampires.
Variety reports that HBO is developing the hip-hop vampire drama Thirst from writing team Lean Benavides Rodriguez and Carlito Rodriguez, former writers on Fox's hit hip-hop drama Empire. The show comes from MACRO Television studios and is based on an original concept by by former VH1 creative director Kevin Jordan, who has a first-look deal with the indie studio. Here is the logline per The Hollywood Reporter:
Thirst tells the story of a brilliant but cocky Atlanta rapper who thinks he's found his way to stardom when he links up with hip-hop's hottest group but has no idea that they're hiding a terrifying secret: They are a family of vampires with roots going back centuries. Blending a vibrant journey through the world of music with a sweeping, new vampire mythology, the show explores the price of fame and legacy in America and asks the eternal question: Who would you become if you could live forever?
"Music has been integral to both our lives, and Thirst is the perfect opportunity to blend genres, while exploring the intersection of fame, culture and what it means to be American," Benavides Rodriguez and Rodriguez said in a joint statement. "We're excited to bring it to life with Macro Television Studios and the rest of our dope team, and thrilled it has found its home at HBO."
It's certainly a weird blend of genres, and may just be weird enough to catch attention in the increasingly crowded TV landscape. Hip-hop musical drama meets supernatural is something that FX's Atlanta has touched on, to a degree, though Donald Glover's surreal Emmy-nominated drama has never gone so far as vampires. But with HBO backing the series, perhaps it will be a success. Why not!
Benavides Rodriguez and Rodriguez will serve as writers, executive producers and showrunners on Thirst. Jordan will executive produce under his first-look deal with Macro, along with executive producers Malcolm Spellman and Nichelle Tramble Spellman, who worked on HBO's scrapped Confederate series. Also executive producing are Ben Watkins via Blue Monday Productions, and Charles D. King and Marta Fernandez for Macro.