Lifetime Is Taking On The Devil

Did NBC's Rosemary's Baby mini series scare you away from parenting forever? If it didn't, Lifetime's latest TV project just might. According to reports, Lifetime is developing a series based on the 1976 horror film The Omen . The series, which will be penned by former Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara, is called Damien and is about the now-grown boy from the original movie who must confront the fact that he is the Anti Christ. Though this series may seem like a big departure from Lifetime's typical programming, at the core, Damien might just be the most Lifetime show ever produced.

For those of you who haven't seen the 1976 film (don't even bother with the 2006 remake) the film is about a young couple who inadvertently take home the Anti Christ from the hospital after their son dies during birth. It isn't long before Damien's presence causes a stir in town (not to mention a body count) and his parents finally realize that he's actually the son of Satan. (Uh, yeah, the "666" on his forehead really should have been a clue.) The two sequels, which follow Anti Christ kid Damien later in life as a teen and young adult show him behaving even more badly with age. (For example, murder by his own hands is now on the table.) And herein lies why The Omen is so perfect for Lifetime: Murder + helpless parents + evil children = the ultimate Lifetime formula. I'm surprised they haven't swept up these rights long ago.

Though Damien will be Lifetime's first true horror series, it's hardly the first time that Lifetime made parenting and children look like a complete nightmare. In fact, sometimes I think that's all they ever do. Just consider the last Lifetime Original Movie you saw. (Come on, I can't be the only one with this guilty pleasure.) For me, it was Stalked at 17 , a movie about a teen girl who gets pregnant and then is stalked by hey psychotic baby daddy. (No, the boyfriend isn't literally the son of Satan, but I'd definitely believe that he's his second cousin or something.)

Then there are movies like Walking the Halls , where not only do the teenagers become prostitutes for fun, but also attempt to murder their friend who threatens to rat them out. (Teens! So scary and scandalous!) And what about their "historical" Lizzie Borden Took An Axe , a film about a young girl who brutally murders her family? Lifetime has built an entire network on teenagers behaving badly, so it's no wonder that they are now taking on The Omen as source material.

Let's hope this TV sequel to The Omen is at least half as good as the original... and as creepy as any Lifetime movie.

Image: 20th Century Fox