The Summer season is almost upon us and the networks are breaking out the trailers to get us ready for their upcoming shows. Below are several recently released trailers for the Summer entries and you can see the full schedule of #scifi and #fantasy shows here.
1. The Great War Is Here In The Trailer For #GameOfThrones Season 7
HBO has made us wait longer than usual for the current season of Game of Thrones (it usually has its debut around April), but we are now less than two months away from its July 16th premiere date, and the network is whetting our appetite with the first full trailer. This one sets up the ensuing “Great War” for the Iron Throne and definitely promises to deliver an epic return for the show. The coming season will have only seven episodes and it leads into the even shorter six-episode eighth and final year which will bring the series to a close (though several prequel/spin-off series are in the works).
2. The Final Trip Begins In The #OrphanBlack Season 5 Trailer
BBC America’s well-respected series Orphan Black will be wrapping up with its fifth season and the new trailer teases the final trip. Here is the synopsis for the final year which debuts on June 10th:
The clone sisterhood has been through it all together. From assassinations, detrimental illnesses, monitors and accidental murders to suburban drug fronts, kidnappings, male clones and biological warfare – there isn’t anything this lot hasn’t experienced. But through it all, they’ve remained united in their love and mission to keep each other safe at all costs. They’ve sacrificed their families, the loves of their lives, and any true sense of normalcy, all for the chance to liberate themselves from forces much bigger than any one of them. This season, they must all fight for the family they’ve chosen, for a new future and ultimately, for freedom. [Credit: BBC America]
3. The World Is Dying In The New Trailer For #TheStrain
Another show is heading into its final season as FX’s The Strain will wrap up its four year run this Summer. The new trailer shows us the beginning of the end for the show which returns on July 16th. Here is the official synopsis for the season:
As the fourth and final season begins, nine months have passed. The world has fallen into darkness, and the strigoi are in control. The explosion at the end of season three triggered a global nuclear apocalypse. The resulting nuclear winter liberated the strigoi, allowing them to move about during daytime, and allowing the Master to establish a totalitarian regime. Preying on the fears of the populace, the Master and his minions have created an unsettling alliance in “The Partnership.” The majority of humans are now working for the strigoi, operating with a single understanding – collaborate or die. With the world in disarray and our heroes disbanded, each of them will have to overcome personal hardship and defy death for even the smallest chance at fighting back… All the while, the Master reigns supreme, furthering his scheme for the end of the world as we know it. In the face of annihilation…do our heroes have what it takes to save humankind? [Credit: FX]
4. Demons Hate Her In The New Trailer For #WynonnaEarp Season 2
Syfy’s supernatural western Wynonna Earp is heading back for its second season and the new trailer explains why the demons she hunts hate her. For those who may not have seen this show yet, it is based on the comic book of the same name by Beau Smith about the great-great-granddaughter of Wyatt Earp and her sister following the demon-hunting ways of their ancestor. The show is a fun little romp and has developed a loyal following that is quite active on the social networks. It returns on June 9th and is definitely worth a look. The first season is available on Netflix for those who want to catch up and you can read more about the show here.
5. Meet The Man Who’ll Kill Dracula In The First Teaser For #Castlevania
Netflix has an upcoming anime-like series on the way based on the classic 80’s video game Castlevania and they have released the first teaser for the show. Season 1 Part 1, which will comprise four thirty minute episodes, will debut on July 7th and here is the series synopsis:
Inspired by the classic video game series, Castlevania is a dark medieval fantasy following the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepe himself. The animated series written by best-selling author and comic book icon Warren Ellis and executive produced by Warren Ellis, Kevin Kolde, Fred Seibert and Adi Shankar. [Credit: Netflix]
6. Time For Sam And Dean To Break Out The Scooby Snacks
This story got squeezed out of last week’s overflowing column, but it is still worth carrying into the current week. Next season, The CW’s Supernatural heads into its record-busting thirteenth year and has a special episode planned. The show will be doing an animated ep in which Sam and Dean will be teaming up with none other than the monster-hunting cowardly mutt Scooby Doo. There are no specifics on the episode yet, but those who are familiar with Supernatural know that these sort of meta-episodes are a regular occurrence and can be a ton of fun. And what better cartoon legend to team the Winchester brothers up with? (Though please keep Scrappy Doo out of the mix.) This show will be returning in Fall where it airs at 8 PM EST on Thursday nights. The premiere date for the animated episode has not been announced yet.
7. #TwinPeaks Gets Lost In Peak TV
Showtime’s (allegedly) much anticipated Twin Peaks revival debuted on Sunday, but seemed to get lost of the shuffle of Peak TV. It only managed a 0.15 rating based on the overnights for the 18-49 demographic with 510k total viewers. Of course, the premium channels are not too concerned with the overnight stats and they count the multiple viewings throughout the week because they are not relying on advertising revenue like the broadcast networks and cable channels. Plus, the show’s two hour premiere was available immediately on the Showtime’s streaming service and they even noted a bump in subscribers after announcing the episodes three and four were being made available early for streaming. But the overnights do act as a leading indicator and it appears that this show has not drummed up much interest in the current uber-competitive television environment.
Of course, Showtime is still getting plenty of buzz just for reviving the cult series, and it did trend well on the social networks (landing at Number 9 in the Weekly Nielsen Social Top 10). Plus, we haven’t seen the digital viewing numbers yet which I expect will be good. Also, this is allegedly an 18-episode limited series designed to give a one-time return to Twin Peaks and resolve any lingering questions. But then we know how that works, its are only truly “limited” if the audience does not justify more seasons.
8. #FearTheWalkingDead Returns For Season 3 Next Week
AMC’s #WalkingDead prequel series Fear the Walking Dead will be kicking off Summer on Sunday June 4th with its third season premiere. Also next week, FOX’s Lucifer and BBC America’s Class have their season finales, and HBO’s The Leftovers wraps up its three year run. You can keep up with the weekly listing of sci fi and fantasy shows here.
9. News Bites: John Barrowman Is Done With The #ArrowVerse
John Barrowman, who has played Malcolm Merlyn in The CW’s Arrow-verse shows, has indicated that he is moving on to other things. Those who saw the season finale for Arrow probably already expected that, but the actor has now officially announced his departure. So maybe we can expect him to move on to another season of Torchwood…?
TNT’s The Last Ship now has a premiere date for its fourth season. That post-apocalyptic show will be returning on August 20th. You can see the full Summer schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows here.
Amazon’s sci fi anthology series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams has added Mel Rodriguez and Vera Farmiga to its ever-growing list of guest stars. The series will adapt tales by Philip K. Dick and comes from executive producers Ronald D. Moore and Bryan Cranston. Other actors currently set to appear include Cranston, Terrence Howard, Anna Paquin, Mireille Enos, Greg Kinnear, and Steve Buscemi.
