A New Life Is Strange TV Show Has Been Announced, Original Creators Say They Aren’t Involved

The official press release states that Charlie Covell, who worked on End of the F***ing World and KAOS, will be the Life Is Strange show’s creator, executive producer, and showrunner. Outside of Amazon MGM Studios, who’s publishing the show, the entities involved include Square Enix, Story Kitchen, and LuckyChap. The show will premiere exclusively on Prime Video. Story-wise, Max Caulfield and her Arcadia Bay bestie Chloe will make a return for a story that sounds beat-for-beat like the first game, minus the meaningful player choices that impacted story progression. 

Despite borrowing its story, some of the most important elements of the original game seem to be getting left out—namely, its creators. In a post on X, the original writer of Life Is Strange Christian Divine quoted the TV show’s announcement post with his own saying “The only people not involved are the creators.” Additionally, as noted by IGN, Amazon MGM studio’s original announcement makes no mention of Don’t Nod, the studio behind the first game. In fact, the announcement doesn’t even acknowledge the studio behind the Square Enix-owned series’ more recent entries, Deck Nine. 

What’s further raised some eyebrows around this announcement is a poorly-worded, if not outright dismissive, statement from executive producers under Story Kitchen, Dimitri M. Johnson and Mike Goldberg, where they said “Story Kitchen has always believed that Life is Strange deserved to be more than just a game—it’s a cultural touchstone.”  While games making the leap from interactive to non-interactive media is nothing new, the subtle implication that the stories originating from games are somehow made more important by not being a game is off-putting. After all, the narrative-driven game was already impactful enough to spawn an entire series, a dedicated fanbase, and the TV show these producers are now working on. 

Regardless, the move itself is unexpected when looking at the broader game adaptation landscape. The Last of Us adaptation on HBO has been incredibly well-received and is getting a third season. Old and new fans alike of Bethesda’s Fallout series are looking out for Season 2 of the TV adaptation coming in December. It’s clear there’s success to be found in TV shows based on game series with rich stories and worlds. Whether or not this new Life Is Strange adaptation can find similar acclaim will have to be seen.