ITV has ordered six-part period crime drama The Frankenstein Chronicles to be produced by Rainmark Films. Billed as a thrilling and terrifying re-imagining of the Frankenstein myth, the series will star Sean Bean as Inspector John Marlott. Blending the investigation and horror genres, it hails from Emmy-nominated director and writer Benjamin Ross and writer Barry Langford (Torte Bluma). It has been commissioned for air on ITV’s subscription channel ITV Encore, the first original drama for the pay outlet since it launched earlier this year. Shooting starts in Northern Ireland in January.

Set in 1827 London, the drama begins when Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel recruits Marlott after a successful operation by Thames River Police to apprehend a gang of opium smugglers. As Marlott stands on the water’s edge contemplating the arrests, he makes a shocking discovery: A corpse washed up on the shore is...