It's been a while since Steven Spielberg scripted a scary story, but chances are, audiences of his original Poltergeist movie still get shivers when his creepiest scenes sneak back into their memories. Now, the Hollywood legend is ready to tap out another spooky tale -- this time for a digital series -- but there's a catch. Anyone who wants to see his new project come to life on screen will have to stay up late to catch the episodes because Spielberg is crafting a series that will only be available to watch at night.
Per Variety, Spielberg offered to write a horror series for Jeffrey Katzenberg's new content service, Quibi, pitching it with the idea that viewers could only watch after midnight. During a media event in Canada this weekend, Katzenberg explained, "Steven Spielberg came in, and said, 'I have a super scary story I want to do.' He's writing it himself. He hasn't [written anything in a while] so getting him to write something is fantastic."
To accommodate Spielberg's novel request that viewers would only get to see the show after dark, Katzenberg said his engineers have developed a way for Quibi to display a clock on users' phones counting down to when the sun will be completely gone in the viewer's location, at which point the episodes will become available. Episodes will be hidden away again as soon as the sun comes up.
In other words, Steven Spielberg is singlehandedly giving his fans a legitimate reason to stay glued to their smartphones past bedtime. Huzzah!
Spielberg has reportedly written a handful of episodes out of the 10 to 12 planned for the new season. The innovative horror show will be one of the many offerings planned for the new service. Quibi -- the title is short for "Quick Bites" -- will feature episodes of original content with segments that run for 7 to 10 minutes each. The ambitious project is expected to deliver 125 pieces of content each week after its launch and will feature tiered pricing: $4.99 for ad-supported viewing or $7.99 for an ad-free plan. The service is expected to launch in April 2020.
Steven Spielberg" data-image-credit="Getty Images" data-image-alt-text="Steven Spielberg" data-image-credit-url="" data-image-target-url="" data-image-title="Steven Spielberg" data-image-filename="steven-spielberg-reg.jpg" data-image-date-created="2019/06/10" data-image-crop="" data-image-crop-gravity="" data-image-aspect-ratio="" data-image-height="1380" data-image-width="2070" data-image-do-not-crop="" data-image-do-not-resize="" data-image-watermark="" data-lightbox="">Other Links From TVGuide.com Steven SpielbergJeffrey Katzenberg