EXCLUSIVE: ABC is developing The Undertaker, a police procedural based on the Swiss series Der Bestatter, from writer Gabriel Garza (The Winchesters, The Flash), director Hanelle M. Culpepper (Paradise, Star Trek: Picard), 20th Television and Elevate Entertainment.
The Undertaker will follow Luke Conrad, a former police detective who takes over his family’s funeral home business and can’t resist investigating the deaths that come through the door. The award-winning Der Bestatter, created by Hartmut Block, ran for seven seasons on Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen in Switzerland.
Garza will serve as writer and executive producer of The Undertaker, with Culpepper directing and executive producing. Exec producers also include Alex Cole and Joe Wiggins of Elevate Entertainment, and Michael Wenning. One Gate Media is the rights holder for Der Bestatter.
Garza began his career as a writer in animation, followed by creating a comedy sitcom, and then becoming an executive producer on the CW’s The Flash. On the series, Garza ran the writers’ room and helped produce more than 100 episodes before moving on to write and produce for the prequel to the Supernatural series, The Winchesters. Garza is repped by WME and MetaMorphic Entertainment.
Emmy nominee Culpepper has directed episodes of some of the most popular shows on TV: American Crime, Gotham, How to Get Away with Murder and Star Trek: Discovery. Most recently, she directed episodes of the Hulu series Paradise. For her work on the Season 2 finale, Culpepper received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing. Her upcoming projects include Apple TV+’s adaptation of William Gibson’s science-fiction novel Neuromancer. She is also attached to direct feature adaptations of Amari and the Night Brothers and 1000 Miles. Culpepper is repped by WME and MetaMorphic Entertainment.
Wenning is repped by Artists First.
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