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'Wizard of Oz' NBC series adaptation is being compared with 'Game of Thrones'

NBC has ordered 10 episodes of a TV series based on L. Frank Baum's books but said to be reimagined in the vein of 'Game of Thrones.'

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Warner Bros./AP
'The Wizard of Oz' starred Judy Garland (second from r.), Ray Bolger (second from l.), Jack Haley (r.), and Bert Lahr (l.).
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Will the world of Oz created by L. Frank Baum get a new TV adaptation?

NBC has reportedly ordered 10 episodes of a TV series titled “Emerald City” that will be based on Baum’s works. However, the series may take a more sinister turn than fans of the 1939 MGM musical would expect.

According to Deadline, the show will be “a modern and dark reimagining of the classic tale of Oz in the vein of Game Of Thrones, drawing upon stories from Baum’s original 14 books that include lethal warriors, competing kingdoms, and the infamous wizard as we’ve never seen him before.”

Famous protagonist Dorothy Gale will be featured on the show and will be a “headstrong 20-year-old” who “is unwittingly sent on an eye-opening journey that thrusts her into the center of an epic and bloody battle for the control of Oz.”

The show is coming from Matthew Arnold, who is the creator and showrunner for the NBC series "Siberia."

Another "Oz"-themed TV project on which we previously reported is a medical drama titled “Dorothy.” The show was in development at CBS at the time.

Baum’s world hit the big screen again in 2013 when the film “Oz The Great and Powerful,” starring James Franco as the Wizard, was released this past March.

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