‘Persona’ Live-Action TV Adaptation in the Works at Netflix, 21 Laps & Story Kitchen to Produce (EXCLUSIVE)
Netflix is developing a live-action series based on the “Persona” video game franchise, Variety has learned from sources.
Christopher Monfette is attached to write the adaptation in addition to serving as executive producer and showrunner. Shawn Levy and Robert Atwood of 21 Laps will also executive produce along with Dmitri M. Johnson, Michael Lawrence Goldberg, and Timothy I. Stevenson via Story Kitchen. Toru Nakahara of SEGA will executive produce as well. 21 Laps is currently under an overall TV deal with Netflix.
“Persona” has proven to be a wildly popular RPG franchise. While the plot varies game to game, they typically focus on Japanese high school students who must go through normal daily routines and build and maintain friendships while also dealing with supernatural threats.
Developed by P-Studios (a division of Atlus) and published by Sega, there have been six main entries in the “Persona” franchise to date, with the seventh entry — “Persona 6” — officially confirmed to be in the works in June 2026. There are also 15 related spinoffs in the franchise. The games originated as spinoff of the Japanese game series “Shin Megami Tensei,” with “Revelations: Persona” debuting in 1996. The most recent entry was “Persona 5: The Phantom X” in 2025. “Persona 4 Revival” is due to be released in February 2027.
Should it move forward, this would not be the first Netflix series based on video game IP. The streamer also produced “The Witcher” live-action TV show as well as animated shows like “Arcane,” “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners,” “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft” and more.
Monfette has previously written for shows like “12 Monkeys” at Syfy, “Star Trek: Picard” at Paramount+, and “9-1-1” for Fox & ABC. He is also attached as a writer and co-executive producer on the upcoming Marvel Disney+ series “VisionQuest.”
On the TV side, 21 Laps most famously produced the megahit Netflix series “Stranger Things,” which recently concluded after five blockbuster seasons at the streamer. The show helped put Netflix originals on the map and helped prove streaming series could be as successful, if not more, than shows on traditional outlets. 21 Laps has also been behind hit shows like “The Perfect Couple” and “Last Man Standing,” while the company has also produced successful films including recent hit “Backrooms” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” with Levy having directed and co-wrote the latter film.
Story Kitchen was founded in 2022 by “Sonic the Hedgehog” producer Johnson and former agency partner Goldberg, with veteran production executive Stevenson and creative executive Elena Sandoval. The company specializes in adaptations of videogames and other non-traditional IP into television and film. There current slate includes the live-action “Tomb Raider” series and the live-action take on “Life Is Strange,” both of which are set up at Amazon Prime Video.
Monfette is repped by Industry Entertainment. 21 Laps is repped by WME and Ziffren Brittenham. Story Kitchen is repped by WME and Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn.