The Witcher series is currently running on all its beastly cylinders for those with Netflix subscriptions, with Season 3 having finished filming, and the Blood Origin prequel spinoff adding a twist to the lore when it debuts on December 25, 2022. That franchise is based on the written works of Andrzej Sapkowski, which were previously adapted into the beloved video game series of the same name, and one of the live-action show’s executive producers has his sights set on crafting a TV series out of another dark and spooky video game, the psychological horror The Medium.
Bloober Team — the studio behind such acclaimed hits as the super-scary Layers of Fear games, The Observer, and Blair Witch — is partnering up with the Polish visual effects company Platige Image for an episodic adaptation of The Medium, which was released to largely favorable reviews across various platforms in 2021. The Platige Image team has been responsible for some of the effects work in The Witcher games, and also helped bring to life the 2002 short film, The Cathedral, which was written and directed by Tomasz Baginski, who is the aforementioned Witcher EP who will be spearheading this new project, according to PPE. (Platige also worked on Wonder Woman, Antichrist and Melancholia, among other projects.)
For those who aren’t so familiar with The Medium and/or haven’t played it, the game’s core mechanic is definitely part of what makes this a lock for a live-action adaptation. The game takes place in 1999, and is set in post-Communism Poland. The main character, Marianne, is a spirit medium who has various psychic abilities, as well as the power to travel between the normal world and the spiritual realm, which she uses to aid restless souls in need of closure. Recurring visions, the death of a foster parent, and a mysterious man named Thomas all point Marianne in the direction of a murderous mystery that could help her learn where her powers came from, how they connect to something far older.
Going back and forth between the realms leads to puzzle solving and other game-specific mechanics that can easily be adjusted for a TV narrative. I’m intrigued to see if the TV series will keep to a single female protagonist, or if there will be other ongoing characters introduced to make things more chaotic. Bloober’s games hinge so heavily on the psychological side of the horror sub-genre, often with solo player-characters being thrown into horrific situations without many other living characters around to share in the nightmares. As such, I hope that element remains as intact as anything else.
Here's a translated reaction from Bloober Team's CEO Piotr Babieno, as translated from Polish:
The story we told in the game was appreciated by players, and now more people will be able to hear about it. The latest hits of streaming platforms based on games such as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners or Arcane have shown that this is the perfect time for such productions. Participation in the creative supervision of such an important figure in Polish cinematography as Tomasz Bagiński proves that we want to create something truly amazing. The whole team working on the concept of the series felt that they were working on something special, we hope to defend you.
While no TV or streaming platforms were reported just yet, the fact that Babieno namechecks two gamer-friendly animated shows specifically from Netflix, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane, certainly add a bit of speculation fuel to the idea that the mega-company would also put their money and effort into The Medium. Which obviously also ties into The Witcher relationship that Tomasz Baginski has with Netflix, which is quickly becoming a go-to spot for higher-end video game adaptations, with Assassins Creed also on the way, as well as the Splinter Cell series, and animated takes on Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry, among others.
Check out the trailer for The Medium below to get a better sense of the tone.
It’s obviously unclear when the next steps will go into effect during this long road to bringing The Medium to live-action, but here’s hoping the process is a lot smoother than the lives of Bloober Team’s game protagonists, amirite? While waiting for updates, head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are popping up on the small screen soon.
