A roundup of sci fi and fantasy television development news from the past week.
Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment is adapting Top Cow’s Eclipse for TV
Network: TBA
Credits: Marc Silvestri (Executive Producer), Matt Hawkins (Executive Producer), Zack Kaplan (Executive Producer)
Starring: TBA
Description: After a solar flare drives the human population underground, daytime surface conditions are monitored by workers like David Baxter, equipped with special suits that protect them from the sun’s deadly radiation. Baxter’s solitary patrol of the empty cityscape is interrupted when he finds the scorched remains of someone left outside to burn – now, he must solve the murder himself. Deadline Hollywood
Comments: The comic hits the stands this week and was created by Zack Kaplan with Giovanni Tampano providing the art. No network is attached at this point, but Kirkman should probably be able to find some interested buyers.
HBO Picks Up The Time Travler’s Wife from Steven Moffat
Network: HBO
Credits: Steven Moffat (Executive Producer)
Starring: TBA
Description: The drama is described as an intricate and magical love story that tells the story of Clare and Henry, and a marriage with a problem … time travel. Hollywood Reporter
Comments: This is based on the Audrey Niffenegger novel of the same name that was previously adapted to the big screen in 2009. HBO picked this up in a heavy-bidding situation. Steven Moffat was previously the showrunner for Doctor Who and the British Sherlock. An episode count has not been set, nor has a timeframe been established for when this will make it to the small screen.
David Tennant Joins Michael B. Jordan in Animated Sci-Fi Series gen:LOCK
Network: TBA
Credits: Gray Haddock (Creator / Executive Producer), Rooster Teeth Animation (Production Company)
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, David Tennant, Dakota Fanning, Monica Rial
Description: Set during a time of war in a dystopian future, the 3D animated gen:LOCK centers on a diverse team of young pilots recruited to operate a new generation of giant mecha, or human controlled armored robots. ScreenRant
Comments: A teaser of this series was shown at New York Comic Con in 2017. No network is attached at the moment, but this one should draw some interest.
Amazon Picks Up Season-Long Horror Anthology Them
Network: Amazon
Credits: Little Marvin (Writer / Executive Producer), Lena Waithe (Executive Producer), Roy Lee (Executive Producer), Vertigo Entertainment (Production Company)
Starring: TBA
Description: The first season, Them: Covenant, is set in 1952 and revolves around Alfred and Lucky Emory, who decide to move their family from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood. The family’s home on a tree-lined, seemingly idyllic street becomes ground zero where malevolent forces both real and supernatural threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them. Hollywood Reporter
Comments: This will be a season-long anthology series like American Horror Story and it has received a two-season order upfront. Amazon will likely target mid-to-late 2019 to add this to its lineup.
Amazon Orders Sci Fi Comedy Upload From The Office Creative Team
Network: Amazon
Credits: Greg Daniels (Creator / Executive Producer), Jennifer Salke (Executive Producer), Vernon Sanders (Executive Producer)
Starring: Andy Allo, Robbie Amell
Description: The project is a single-camera sitcom that takes place in the near future, where people who are near death can be “uploaded” into a virtual afterlife of their choice. Set in 2033, the secretly romantic Brooklyn-born Nora (Andy Allo, Pitch Perfect 3) works customer service for a luxurious virtual reality environment. When handsome L.A. party boy Nathan’s (Robbie Amell, The DUFF) self-driving car crashes, his high-maintenance girlfriend uploads him permanently into Nora’s VR world. Hollywood Reporter
Comments: The creative team on this project previously shepherded The Office and Parks & Recreation. This is the last series from the streaming service’s pilot-voting days and Amazon has given it a 10-episode order.
More Development News
Netflix has picked up two motion-capture films that Andy Serkis Mowgli (based on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book) and Animal Farm (based on the George Orwell novel).
Frank Miller has retained the television (and film) rights to his comic book series Sin City. There’s no word at this point on whether he is considering bringing it to the small screen.
Warner Bros. is considering a reboot of its 80’s series ALF.
