Lifetime to Turn Shakespearean Plays into Contemporary Horror Anthology Series

Lifetime has ordered to pilot the one-hour psychological thriller A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHTMARE from A+E Studios. The first season of the anthology series takes on one of Shakespeare's most popular works - A Midsummer Night's Dream - transforming it into a modern-day, mind-bending thriller that explores terror, deception and the dark side of love. The announcement was made today by Liz Gateley, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming for Lifetime.

"We're really taking big swings at Lifetime and developing content that redefines what it means to be a Lifetime show. A Midsummer's Nightmare is unlike anything Lifetime has ever done before," said Gateley.

Told from the perspective of Elena, a young woman reluctantly drawn into a summer getaway-turned-nightmare, A Midsummer's Nightmare introduces four young lovers who steal off into the woods in pursuit of their romantic desires, but their plans are quickly thwarted when terrifying forces in the deep woods target the stranded group, using their own fantasies and darkest secrets against them. Will Elena and the group rise above their own frailties in order to survive sinister forces? It's only a matter of time until the faces of love and terror wear the same mask.

A Midsummer's Nightmare will be produced by A+E Studios. Jeff Kwatinetz (Royal Pains) and Josh Barry (Salem) of The Firm are executive producing. Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows) wrote the pilot and serves as co-executive producer. This marks Lifetime's second project with A+E Studios, after UnREAL, the network's most critically-acclaimed series ever, set to return for a third season in 2017. It also marks the network's second pilot this year, in addition to Sea Change, currently in post-production.