Development and Production
The idea for adapting Maniac Mansion into an episodic television series originated with LucasFilm animators Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser. After having played the game and developed the idea, they pitched the concept to George Lucas, who also saw the project's potential. LucasFilm teamed up with The Family Channel (now ABC Family) and Toronto-based production company Atlantis Films and began to expand the idea.
Atlantis contacted Eugene Levy, former writer and cast member of SCTV, and offered him the chance to help create and produce the show. Atlantis' original treatment depicted Maniac Mansion as a darker horror-comedy in the vein of The Munsters, but after Levy rejected the premise, he was given the creative control to shape the show in his own image. Levy recruited a number of his former SCTV alumni and developed the show into a less supernaturally-oriented family sitcom.
Read more about this topic: Maniac Mansion (TV Series)
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