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.
(Updated)
Not too much in the way of development news over the past two weeks, but here are a few rather notable stories:
American Gods: HBO had previously passed on producing a television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s celebrated book about aging mythological gods living in America, but competing pay channel Starz took an interest when the property moved into free agent status. And now that network has greenlighted a ten-episode first season to be adapted from the story. Gaiman will executive produce the series and the showrunner’s will be Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daises) and Michael Green (Heroes, The River). That’s quite a geek-gasm of genre cred behind the show (particularly the first two names attached) so expectations will definitely be high for this one. The network is targeting a 2016 bow for the show.
Unnamed George R.R. Martin Projects: We previously mentioned the Captain Cosmos project that Mr. Martin is developing for HBO, and he apparently has more on the way. According to The Wrap, the author claimed in a recent blog post that he is “developing three new series concepts for HBO and Cinemax” (one of those being Captain Cosmos), so he is plenty busy these days. There’s no further information on the specifics of those two additional projects, but Martin appears to be tied to HBO/Cinemax for the next few years (while also trying to finish up is Song of Ice and Fire Books and all the other things he has on his plate).
Star Trek: Uncharted: There hasn’t been a Trek series on television since Enterprise bowed out ten years ago, and I’m guessing that’s not going to change in the near future. But according to CinemaBlend.com, Paramount is planning on listening to a pitch from long-time fan Michael Gummelt concerning his proposal for Star Trek: Uncharted. This series would take place 200 years after the the original series and would follow the adventures of the “Perseus Class” U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 which is exploring the Andromeda galaxy by means of a “Spacefold Gate”. Gummelt has written the pilot script and series details and has all that available at his website StarTrekUncharted.com. It seems like it would be a longshot for this to go to series, but it is interesting that Paramount is even willing to consider it. Maybe they are seriously considering bringing the franchise back to the small screen, and it will be worth keeping a close eye on how this plays out.
Hawkgirl: Update: According to CBR, The CW has officially refuted the Spoiler TV rumor about a Hawkgirl series being in the works. Seemed hard to believe at this point, anyway. The CW already has the DC shows Arrow and The Flash and this coming season will bring the team-up series Legends of Tomorrow headlining the Atom (who first appeared on Arrow). But now Spoiler TV is claiming that the network is considering a fourth DC superhero series that would focus on Hawkgirl (who is currently set to appear on LoT). They don’t give much specific information, but they do claim that the show would likely bypass the pilot stage and go straight to series. Take the rumor for what it is worth, especially considering this would load up the network’s ten hours of Prime Time programming with five hours of DC shows (iZombie is also based on a DC comic, though doesn’t appear to take place in the Arrow-verse). I’m thinking that at the least the network will wait to see how viewers respond to Hawkgirl on Legends of Tomorrow before greenlighting a series, but I guess that anything is possible.
Son of Zahn: Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, The Last Man on Earth) are developing this comedy project for FOX that will combine animation with live action. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show will focus on
An animated Barbarian father who comes home for the first time in 10 years to his live-action son and ex-wife. He finds that reconnecting with his family, struggling through his mundane office job and dealing with the banality of suburban life is much harder than waging actual war in his distant, animated world.
An pilot is in the works and it would likely air sometime in 2016 if picked up.
