News, updates, and (mostly viable) rumors relating to development of science fiction / fantasy television productions. If you have tips or more info on these or other productions, please pass them along in the comments.
With all the hoopla of the upfronts (where the broadcast networks presented their 2015-16 schedules to the advertisers) as well as all the cancellation/renewal announcements, there has not been too much in the way of development news over the last month beyond the pilot pickups. Below is a roundup of what I have seen over the past four weeks or so.
Development:
The Wicked + The Divine: This Image Comics series by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matt Wilson about a group of people with superpowers known as “The Pantheon” (not to be confused with the Bill Willingham comic book series Pantheon or the Marvel superpowered team of the same name or the DC superpowered team of the same name) is getting adapted to a television series. The Wicked + The Divine first bowed in June 2104 and has accumulated much praise and several awards since its debut. There is currently no television network or timeframe attached to the TV adaptation.
Outbreak Drama: NBC has given a straight to series order for an as yet untitled “outbreak drama” from Oscar winner Graham Moore (The Imitation Game) and World War Z writer Marc Forster. According to The Hollywood Reporter:
The drama starts when a woman exhibits mysterious symptoms, and she and her loved ones find themselves at the center of an epidemic with global consequences. Meanwhile, across the world, an FBI agent investigates a seemingly unrelated terrorist attack that leads him to the brink of madness. The untitled drama is said to offer a candid look at an outbreak that pushes its characters to extremes, revealing the best — and very worst — humanity has to offer.
It will likely be targeted for a mid-season bow.
Cassius & Clay: Fox has ordered this animated series from Megan Ganz (Community) and Adam Reed (Archer). According to Variety, it will be an “animated action-buddy-comedy centered on two women living as bandits in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic America”. The voices for the show’s lead characters will be provided by Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Lake Bell (Children’s Hospital), and it will likely be looking at an early 2016 debut.
Speed Racer Reboot: Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer, back for another lap. The classic 1960’s adventure/sci fi anime (known as Mach GoGoGo in Japan) is set for a reboot from Tatsunoko Production. This will be a modernized version of the series and Tatsunoko had previously attempted this with the character in 1997 (know in the States as Speed Racer: X), though that one did not go over too well. There is no word on when the new version will be hitting the small screen in Japan or in the U.S.
Brave New World: Syfy is currently teaming with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin TV on a mini-series adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s classic dystopian novel. Les Bohem (who previously worked on the Amblin TV mini-series Taken for the Sci Fi Channel) will write the script. The BBC produced an excellent take on Huxley’s book back in 1980 and you can watch that on YouTube at this link.
Slasher: Chiller is working on its first original series that is set to debut later this year. It will be a season long anthology in the vein of American Horror Story, and according to Variety the first storyline “revolves around a woman who returns home to find herself wrapped up in a series of grisly murders that mirror the death of her parents.” Eight episodes are planned for the show’s first season.
Updates:
Tales from the Darkside: The CW passed on this reboot of the 1980’s horror anthology series, but the word is that it is not completely dead. According to Deadline Hollywood, at least three cable networks have shown an interest in picking it up (Syfy, MTV, and VH1) and Hulu has considered adding it to their original entries as well.
Warriors: NBC considered the pilot for this supernatural/action series for their 2015-16 schedule, but passed on it. FOX has since stepped in and is mulling picking the show up, though they already have four genre entries slated for next year (returning Gotham plus new shows Minority Report, Frankenstein Code, and Lucifer). Here is the description of the series give by THR:
In a grounded, contemporary multicultural and sometimes magical milieu, a damaged heroine (Under the Dome‘s Natalie Martinez) works undercover with physical and spiritual guidance from a mysterious martial arts master (Lights Out‘s Holt McCallany) to bring down an international crime lord.
Myst: This previously announced small screen adaptation of the 1990’s computer game from Legendary Television has been picked up by Hulu. According to Deadline Hollywood, “it will explore the origins of the island of Myst from the game where a man wakes up on a mystery island with absolutely no idea who he is, where is, or how he got there.” No debut date for the series has been given yet.
