The networks started making their announcements yesterday and the news was coming fast and furious later in the evening as ABC started to unveil its plans. Here is my quick round up of what happened yesterday, and I will be going into more detail on this over the coming weeks.
Cancellations:
There were no big surprises among the cancellations as three sci fi / fantasy shows were sent to the Network Executioner yesterday. The previous assumption that The CW’s The Messengers arrived DOA proved correct as that one received its cancellation notice. I was thinking that they might delay that until after the upfronts to watch its May/June numbers and see if it might be a candidate for a Summer slot. But the numbers so far have been low enough, that apparently the network decided to go ahead and cut bait. Also coming as no surprise were ABC’s cancellations of Forever and Resurrection. And the demise of that former show would seem to indicate that the Live+7 delayed viewing numbers (the only numbers it had in its favor) are not enough to keep a show alive.
Renewals:
I already covered the renewals of iZombie (CW), Powers (PlayStation), and Orphan Black (BBC America) in yesterday’s Cancellation Watch post. After that, we heard news of renewals for Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter as well as the surprise return of Galavant. And Once Upon A Time received a fifth season as expected. The Galavant renewal was particularly interesting because it suggests that the network may have a different set of standards for these “bridge” shows (Agent Carter is in that category as well) and they may not be required to achieve the same ratings levels as the other shows on the network’s schedule.
Pickups:
The CW pickup up two sci fi shows so far and ABC has picked up one that might have some genre elements plus they have their revival of The Muppets on the way (don’t care if its not sci fi, I’m excited!). The CW pickups included the expected Arrow / The Flash spin-off DC’s The Legends of Tomorrow. That one will introduce Rip Hunter who will team up with the Atom, Firestorm (presumably), and more in what sounds like an epic storyline. The other is pandemic drama Cordon from Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals). That one sounds like it might cross into some of the same territory as TWD‘s spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead and it’s sure to have plenty of melodrama seeing as it is a CW entry, but may still be worth a look. ABC has a biblical drama on the way, and I’m not sure yet if it is going to be more of a historical series or if it might try a Kings-types spin on its source material. And it looks like they are backing off from the Agents of SHIELD spin-off series, though we haven’t heard word on that other Marvel project, so more news should follow.
Below are the official summaries for the new shows and continue to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site and Facebook Page for breaking news over the next few days. I will plan on doing another round up like this on either Sunday or Monday and you can see the current status of all this season’s shows at the Cancellation Watch page.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (CW): When heroes alone are not enough… the world needs legends. Having seen the future, one he will desperately try to prevent from happening, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter is tasked with assembling a disparate group of both heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat – one in which not only is the planet at stake, but all of time itself. Can this ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known?
Cordon (CW): When a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, a vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced, forcing those stuck on the inside to fight for their lives while local and federal officials desperately search for a cure. Trying to keep the peace on the streets is police officer Lex Carnahan, who has quickly risen through the ranks of the Atlanta PD. But Lex’s job becomes even harder when he learns that his longtime girlfriend, Jana, and his best friend and fellow officer Jake, are trapped within the cordoned area.
Of Kings and Prophets (ABC): An epic Biblical saga of faith, ambition and betrayal as told through the eyes of a battle-weary king, a powerful and resentful prophet and a resourceful young shepherd on a collision course with destiny.
