Marvel's 'Powers' comic to be Sony's first PS4 TV show
Sony's first original TV show for the PlayStation Network will be an adaptation of Marvel comic Powers.
Marvel's Powers comic books, about detectives who investigate superheroes, is coming to a PS4 near you. Sony's first original TV show for the PlayStation Network will be an adaptation of Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming's long-running series, according to Hollywood gossip site Deadline.
It'll be produced by Sony Pictures Television, the company behind Breaking Bad and Community, with scripts from the pen of pulp crime and comics writer Charlie Huston.
Inspired by movies including Taxi Driver and Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, and the work of The Wire creator David Simon, Powers shows the world of superheroes from the cynical, hard-boiled view of working coppers. It also takes cues, surprisingly, from VH1's Behind the Music documentaries, with superheroes facing the kind of setbacks and problems that normally befall rock stars. Originally published independently, it moved to Marvel's Icon imprint in 2004.
Sony's plans to become an online TV powerhouse surfaced late last year. The company has been in talks with cable companies and broadcasters to buy up shows. "It's about having a broad range of broadcast content to replicate the live TV experience," Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, told the Wall Street Journal.
The company's console rival Microsoft has similar plans afoot, with Steven Spielberg developing a Halo show for the Xbox One. Both consoles let you access Netflix, whose original programming such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black has won awards and pulled in millions of paying punters.
Sony hasn't said whether the show will be part of its PlayStation Plus service, which gives you free games for a monthly fee, or whether you'll have to pay for it separately. Its release date is also to be announced.
Image credit: Marvel