Is the new TV adaption of The Picture of Dorian Gray being de-gayed? Here's why fans think so

A new television adaption of Oscar Wilde's critically acclaimed 1890 queer novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is headed to television — with one key change to the original story.

According to Deadline, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, the team behind the LGBTQ+ series Fellow Travelers, is adapting the book into a TV series titled The Grays. "In a twist on the gothic novel, the series revolves around siblings Basil and Doran Gray," they note.

In the original story, which was first published in 1890 by beloved queer author Oscar Wilde, Basil's homoerotic obsession with Dorian leads him to paint the young man. During the sitting, Dorian meets Basil's friend Lord Henry who stresses that fulfillment can only be found in beauty and sex. Dorian suddenly realizes the power of his beauty — and that it will eventually fade — and wishes that the portrait will age instead of him. His wish is granted and as the portrait absorbs all of Dorian's transgressions over the years, he stays beautiful while his sins only get more and more destructive.

The Picture of Dorian Gray treads carefully with its depictions of same-sex attraction following outrage from Victorian readers at the time. The story we know today was censored and republished to remove Basil's declaration of affection for Dorian.

The novel has been adapted many times over the years in various stage plays, television specials, and theatrical feature films, including a 2009 dark fantasy starring Ben Barnes.

With the news of Basil and Dorian as siblings, fans of the book are nervous that the upcoming series could de-gay Wilde's original story even further. With not much information yet readily available, we'll just have to wait and see...

The Grays is currently in development at Netflix. No production or premiere dates have been announced as of yet.