The Mid-Season 2020-21 Schedule Brings the Delayed Start of Many Sci Fi TV Shows

January 2021 is almost here (finally offering an escape from a dreadful 2020) and that brings us a Mid-Season schedule with plenty of sci fi and fantasy shows, many of which were delayed from a Fall start. The COVID-related production delays had an impact across the entertainment industry and led to a slim Fall schedule as far as sci fi TV shows. But the ones that were held up will start arriving over the next month or two, and the line-up should be in high gear by February. (You can see the full schedule below and at this link).

As far as the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC), it continues to be slim pickins’ for sci fi TV. ABC has nothing for genre fans this year and FOX’s neXt was cancelled in Fall. NBC’s Manifest is set to return early in 2021 (no premiere date has been announced yet), and new series Debris is on the way, though that one may not debut until Spring. Over on CBS, spy fi series MacGyver returned in December and Evil should have its second season debut early in 2021. The encore run of Star Trek: Discovery continues on that network as well.

The CW has the most genre selections among the non-streaming channels, and its regular season shows start returning in January. Arrow-verse entries Batwoman (January 17th), Black Lightning (February 8th), The Flash (February 23rd), and Superman & Lois (February 23rd) start hitting the schedule in the first month of 2021 with Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow set for Spring returns. The CW’s other genre entries like Riverdale (January 20th), Legacies (January 21st), and Charmed (January 24th) return to the schedule in January.

Syfy only has one show with a scheduled premiere date at this point and two more that might join the lineup over the next month or two. New series Resident Alien (starring Alan Tudyk) is set to premiere on January 27th. The fifth and final season of Van Hesling should be arriving at some point as well as the second half of Wyonna Earp‘s fourth season, though neither has a premiere date yet. And it is possible the latter series could get pushed to Summer.

Among the other cable networks, AMC’s The Walking Dead returns to air the extended Season 10 episodes on February 28th, and Fear the Walking Dead could be back for the second half of its sixth season, though that might get pushed to Spring. New series The Watch (based on the Terry Pratchett Discworld books) debuts January 3rd, the third season of Starz’s American Gods bows January 10th, and the second season of TNT’s Snowpiercer premieres January 25th. FX’s American Horror Story should be back with its tenth season at some point early in 2021 as well.

There are not too many streaming shows on the Mid-Season schedule at this point, but those often arrive with short notice, so expect more entries to be added. Among the premieres that we do have dates for are Apple TV+’s Servant (January 15th) and For All Mankind (February 19th) as well as Disney+’s Wandavision (January 15th) and The Falcon and Winter Soldier (March 19th). Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina gets an early start on December 31st, and I expect premieres for the second season of Shudder’s Creepshow and the second season of Apple TV+’s See over the next few months as well.

There are still not as many sci fi and fantasy selections as we saw last Mid-Season, but at least it is a bump up from Fall 2020, and I expect more shows to join the schedule in the next month or two. You can see the full line-up of sci fi fantasy shows as it currently stands below, and be sure to check back at our Sci Fi TV Schedule page on a regular basis for updates. Also be sure to follow our Weekly Listings posts to know what is airing in the coming week and you can see my cancellation/renewal predictions for the second half of the season at this link.

Mid-Season 2020-21 Schedule for Sci Fi & Fantasy Shows:

(Links are to the show pages on CancelledSciFi.com with additional information as well as status updates and ratings results where available.)