It's been a big month for Persona fans. As the series celebrates its 30th anniversary, Sega and Atlus have revealed the release date for Persona 4 Revival and given us a first look at Persona 6. And it doesn't stop there.
According to a new report, Atlus has greenlit a Persona TV series that will be helmed by Star Trek: Picard writer Christopher Monfette and backed by Sega's Toru Nakahara.
New TV series Persona (???) coming to Netflix
According to Variety , Atlus and Netflix will be working together on a Persona live-action TV series. Monfette is set to write the adaptation and serve as executive producer and showrunner, while Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Robert Atwood of 21 Laps (Stranger Things) will executive produce.
On the Sega side, Toru Nakahara will provide support. Nakahara is credited as a producer on another recent Sega adaptation proposal, with Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Prime, Knuckles, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
It's clear that Sega is trying to push more of its IP to the screen. In 2024, it released Like a Dragon: Yakuza, an Amazon Prime show based on the Japanese crime series, and an adult animated comedy based on Golden Ax was also confirmed.
The persona herself is no stranger to adaptations. While this will be the series' first foray into the world of live action, it has had several anime spin-offs. Persona 3 had a series of four movies following the game's launch, including Spring of Birth, Midsummer Knight's Dream, Falling Down, and Winter of Rebirth.
Persona 4 then got two anime series. The first had 25 episodes and focused on the protagonist Yu Narukami. The second had 12 episodes and adapted the storyline of Persona 4 Golden, featuring characters introduced in that version of the game.
Persona 5 was preceded by a one-episode prologue anime and two years later a 26-episode series covering the main campaign. It's unclear which game, if any, this new series will cover, but given its popularity, you have to imagine it's Persona 5.
As a huge Persona fan, I'm very skeptical of what's cooking here. The reasons games are so well-received are the choices players have to make, whether it's what social links to explore or how to spend their limited free time. Without it, I fear the real hook of Persona will be lost.
