Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa sets chilling YA horror series at Netflix (and it's giving Riverdale)

Leave it to Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to mine the most bizarre tabloid stories for his next young adult horror series. On July 31, Deadline reported that Aguirre-Sacasa is developing Bat Boy, a new series for Netflix from Warner Bros. TV inspired by the '90s tabloid fixation on a fictional half-bat, half-boy that had the nation stunned on the cover of Weekly World News.

In the live-action horror-comedy in the works at Netflix, the titular Bat Boy's name is Bobby Bates. After living outside society due to his appearance, Bobby emerges from his isolation to attend Cypressville High School with the help of quirky teens Charisma and Olive. On top of his appearance, Bobby also has a taste for human blood. So, he's not exactly going to fit in.

Staying true to his mystery-thriller roots a la Riverdale and the Pretty Little Liars reboot, Aguirre-Sacasa's in-the-works Bat Boy series will also have an additional mystery element, as the synopsis provided by Deadline teases a "mystery bubbling up from the Florida swamps." There's definitely enough off-the-wall intrigue to go around in the potential series.

Bat Boy series in the works at Netflix

News of Bat Boy comes on the heels of the conclusion of Aguirre-Sacasa's second season of Max's Pretty Little Liars reboot, which was dubbed Summer School. As of this writing, the teen horror series hasn't been renewed for a third season. Of course, he was also the mind behind The CW's left-of-center teen drama Riverdale, which was a hit on Netflix, and the show's Netflix original supernatural offshoot Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Bat Boy also comes from Joe Tracz, who created Netflix's fan-favorite teen holiday rom-com series Dash & Lily. He's also worked on Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+ as a co-executive producer and writer and will be the executive producer and co-showrunner for One Piece season 2 on Netflix. There are so many Netflix connections behind the scenes! Not to mention, Aguirre-Sacasa and Tracz have the best experience possible in the high-concept coming-of-age space to pull off a show as out-there as Bat Boy.

Since Bat Boy will be a live-action series, the special or practical effects used to bring Bobby Bates to life as his Bat Boy persona will be interesting. How close will the character look to the tabloid fixture people remember from the '90s? Will the show be set in the '90s? Will there be a musical element? (Deadline points out the show won't be connected to the 1997 Off-Broadway adaptation of the tabloid story.)

Obviously, because the show is still being developed, there are no casting announcements or filming updates. Netflix still has to give the show the green light before the cast can fill out and cameras can start rolling. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping Bat Boy scores a series order from Netflix along with Greg Berlanti's live-action Scooby Doo series. We need more Jughead-approved weird series out there now that Riverdale has left the airwaves. These two are the best bet.

Stay tuned for more Netflix news and updates from Netflix Life!