MGM+ is expanding its horror lineup with a series order to The Black Tapes, a supernatural investigation drama. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stars in the eight-episode series based on the 2015 horror podcast of the same name created by Terry Miles and Paul Bae who are writers on the TV adaptation alongside John Rogers (Leverage).
In The Black Tapes, Dr. Richard Strand (Coster-Waldau), a brilliant psychiatrist with a mysterious past, teams with the obsessed, relentless scientist Alex Regan to debunk paranormal cases of hauntings, possessions, disappearances, and sinister legends – the infamous black tapes. But as Strand and Regan unravel the secrets of these events, they uncover a hidden occult world behind our own and must unravel a centuries-old apocalyptic conspiracy.
Produced by MGM+ Studios, The Black Tapes is executive produced by Miles and Bae as well as Kearie Peak of Peak Pictures and Rogers and Jennifer Court of Kung Fu Monkey Productions, with Rogers serving as showrunner. The series is scheduled to begin production in Vancouver in January 2027 for release on MGM+ in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Latin America.
The Black Tapes podcast has amassed over 60 million downloads since its launch 11 years ago. NBC developed a drama series adaptation during the 2018-19 cycle, which was written and executive produced by Bae, Miles and Mathew Arnold. It did not go to pilot.
“The Black Tapes crafts a compelling story around our cultural fascination with the unexplained, while delivering the cinematic, classic storytelling that MGM+ audiences expect,” said Michael Wright, global head of MGM+. “With Nikolaj’s compelling presence and the creative vision of John Rogers, Kearie Peak and our talented production team, we’re excited to make something that is both provocative and hugely entertaining.”
The project brings back together Wright, Rogers and Paek. During his tenure as a top TNT programming executive, Wright oversaw several titles from Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment that Rogers and Paek were part of: Paek worked on The Librarian movie franchise and the series Leverage, while Rogers was across Leverage and The Librarians TV series offshoot, which he co-created and developed, respectively.
“I was an early and passionate fan of The Black Tapes podcast,” says Rogers. “It’s a unique blend of truly unsettling horror and puzzle-box conspiracy mystery. With Paul and Terry not just executive producing, but also in the writer’s room, we have a chance to both bring The Black Tapes to a new generation of genre fans and deepen and expand the mythos in ways that will surprise long-time supernatural horror fans.”
The Black Tapes joins MGM+’s current horror slate of From, which is headed to a fifth and final season, and The Institute, whose second season premieres Nov. 8.
Best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Jaime Lannister on HBO’s Game of Thrones, Coster-Waldau recently starred in the BBC/Prime Video series King & Conquerer and Apple TV+’s, The Last Thing He Told Me. He next stars opposite Jennifer Lopez in the Netflix film The Last Mrs. Parrish. Coster-Waldau is repped by Range Media Partners, Sloane Offer Weber.