Okay, the Wicked Witch of the West was pretty scary, and the flying monkeys were definitely scary, but the Frank L. Baum book series upon which the movie The Wizard of Oz was based is creepier and definitely more brutal than the movie ever was. NBC is apparently taking that aspect of the books and running with it, as it has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order for a “reimagined” Emerald City.

Here’s the pertinent part of the press release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.  — NBC has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order for “Emerald City,” a reimagining of the classic Frank L. Baum books that have inspired everything from “The Wizard Of Oz” to “Wicked.”

Based on the 14-book series that first created the wonderful – and treacherous – Land of Oz, “Emerald City” is a dramatic and modern reimagining of the tales that include lethal warriors, competing kingdoms, and the infamous wizard as we’ve never seen him before. A head-strong 20-year-old Dorothy Gale is unwittingly sent on an eye-opening journey that thrusts her into the center of an epic and bloody battle for the control of Oz.

Writer Matt Arnold and Josh Friedman will serve as executive producers. Universal Television is the production company.

Cool. We’ll keep you posted.