EXCLUSIVE: What if Van Helsing did NOT kill the three brides of Dracula? What if they survived for centuries and are now living in New York City? That is the basic premise of Brides, a hot gothic soap drama from playwright, screenwriter and comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and top TV producer Greg Berlanti, which has landed at NBC with a pilot production commitment. Written by Aguirre-Sacasa, Brides is described as a sexy reimagining of Dracula as a family drama with a trio of strong, diverse female leads, a show about empowered women and the things they do to maintain wealth, prestige, legacy — and their non-traditional family. The project hails from Warner Bros. Television and studio-based Berlanti Prods., with Aguirre-Sacasa, Berlanti and Berlanti Prods.’ Sarah Schechter executive producing.

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Known in popular culture as the Brides of Dracula, the three characters, originally introduced in Bram Stoker’s classic novel, are portrayed as beautiful and powerful female vampire “sisters” who reside with Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania where they use their charm to seduce and bewitch men before preying on them. They manage to entrance Van Helsing too before he shakes off their spell and kills them. The characters are a staple in the Dracula mythology and have appeared in most Dracula screen adaptations, headlining the 1960 British movie The Brides Of Dracula.

Brides expands the relationship between Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics, and Berlanti. The two teamed last season for Riverdale, a live-action drama based on the characters from the Archie comics. The project, originally set up at Fox, recently relocated to the CW where it is in active development.

WME-repped Aguirre-Sacasa previously worked for Marvel Comics, did stints on HBO’s Big Love and Looking and Fox’s Glee, and wrote the feature remakes of Carrie and The Town That Dreaded Sundown as well as the Broadway-bound stage musical adaptation of American Psycho.

WME-repped Berlanti is the most prolific broadcast producer with six series on the air this coming season, freshmen Supergirl on CBS, Blindspot on NBC and Legends Of Tomorrow on the CW, and returning Arrow, The Flash and The Mysteries Of Laura.