Sci Fi TV Top 5: Covering the top sci fi and fantasy TV stories of interest from the past week. You can keep up with the sci fi and fantasy TV news headlines throughout the week at r/SciFiTV on Twitter and on Reddit.
1. Ob-Wan Series at Disney+ Loses Force
The Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series in development at Disney+, which would see Ewan McGregor return to the role, has run into trouble behind-the-scenes. Writer Hossein Amini is off the project and word is that they will start with a new story once another scribe is brought onboard. This project originally began as a solo film, but the poor Box Office for the Solo: A Star Wars Story put those plans on hold. At this point the series is still moving forward and McGregor is still attached, but it will probably be a while before production is under way.
2. Bad Robot Is Developing Justice League Dark TV Series
J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production is in the early stages of developing a Justice League Dark television series as part of its new deal with Warner Bros. Based on the DC comic of the same name, it focuses on a team of heroes with occult and/or dark origins. Members of the team have included Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Shade, the Changing Man, Zatanna, and Swamp Thing. The project is in the early stages of development (and may include a movie as well) with little in the way of specifics available at this time, and it is unclear whether this will be animated or live-action. There is also no word on whether Matt Ryan would portray Constantine or if the Swamp Thing would carry over from the recently cancelled DC Universe series. The most likely landing spot for the series would be DCU or HBO Max. Expect more news on this in the coming months.
3. Amazon Picks Up Fear Agent
Amazon has won the rights to the space opera comic book Fear Agent by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena, beating out Peacock, HBO Max, and TNT in a bidding situation. Following is the logline for the series:
Interstellar invaders. Time travel. Clones of clones of clones, and lots of whiskey. Whether he’s battling the scourge of space, going back in time to stop the alien invasion that changed Earth forever, or winning his ex-wife back, there’s nothing that Heath Huston won’t do to try to right the wrongs and gets his family back. He is, after all, the last Fear Agent.
Seth Rogen, Matt Tolmach and David F. Sandberg will executive produce the series with Mattson Tomlin writing the pilot. The streaming service will be looking to add this to its slate of originals later this year or early 2021.
4. Jodi Whittaker Will Return as the Doctor
Jodi Whittaker is now in her second season as the Doctor on the long-running TV series Doctor Who and it appears she will continue in the role for at least another year. In an interview with Enterainment Weekly, Whittaker made the announcement that she will be doing another season of the show. That series has seen its ratings decline in its twelfth season, both in the States and across the Atlantic in Britain. But since it has been practically an institution for BBC, and since it can reboot itself at any time with a new lead, the chances of cancellation are slim. Whittaker’s annoucenment does not count as an official renewal, but I expect that to come soon enough.
5. NBC Orders Two Sci Fi Pilots
With pilot-season in full swing now, NBC has added two sci fi entries to the list of shows it is considering for the 2020-21 season. Following are loglines for each:
Echo: A high-concept, genre procedural revolving around a team of investigators who solve the highest-profile crimes by sending our heroes 36 hours into the past … in the body of the victim. They assume the victim’s identity and must race against time to prevent the crime before it happens.
La Brea: When a massive sinkhole mysteriously opens in Los Angeles, it tears a family in half, separating mother and son from father and daughter. When part of the family find themselves in an unexplainable primeval world, alongside a disparate group of strangers, they must work to survive and uncover the mystery of where they are and if there is a way back home.
J.J. Bailey is writing the pilot for Echo with John Davis and John Fox executive producing. David Applebaum is writing La Brea with Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, and Peter Traugott executive producing. Both will be produced by Universal Studios.
THE SCHED: Arrow and The Good Place Have Their Series Finales
Next week brings no new sci fi TV premieres, but two shows will be having their series finales. On Tuesday, The CW’s Arrow wraps up its eight-year run with its final episode. And on Thursday, NBC’s The Good Place will be coming to an end after four seasons. Also wrapping up next week is Evil on CBS (it has been renewed for a second season) and on ABC (that show is currently On the Bubble). You can see the full schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows at this link and you can keep up with the weekly listings at this link.
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