Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.
Series Revival: Showtime announced yesterday that a new installment of their horror series Penny Dreadful is on the way to be titled “City of Angels”. Following is the information on the new season provided by Variety:
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels is set in 1938 Los Angeles, a time and place deeply infused with Mexican-American folklore and social tension. Rooted in the conflict between characters connected to the deity Santa Muerte and others allied with the Devil, the new series will explore a mix of the supernatural and the reality of the time period.
Creator, writer, and executive producer John Logan came to Showtime with the idea for the new installment and he will be returning to the show in the same capacity as before. Penny Dreadful previously ran on Showtime for three seasons and featured and “all star” cast of horror legends such as Dracula, Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and more. That story arc ended after its third season when Logan believed that it had reached its logical conclusion. There is no word yet on whether the “City of Angels” installment could continue for multiple seasons or if they may adopt the season-long anthology format. There are also no word on plans for characters from the show’s first run to crossover in the new season.
Ratings Woes: Netflix and Marvel cancelled the shows Luke Cage and Iron Fist apparently because their viewership dropped notably in their second seasons (more on that at this link). And now information has come out suggesting that Daredevil saw a notable drop in its third season which had it bow in mid-October. Netflix does share much in the way of viewership data, but the measuring service Jumpshot has been monitoring activity for the service in the U.S. They previously indicated that Luke Cage and Iron Fist lost nearly two-thirds of their viewers in their second seasons. Now they are saying that Daredevil experienced a 57% drop in viewership when comparing the first week of Season 3 vs. the first week of Season 2 (all episodes are available for viewing the day that the season debuts). Of course, Daredevil has been the most popular of the Marvel series on Netflix, so even at such a large drop its viewership is higher than Luke Cage or Iron Fist. But Netlix execs can’t be happy with that level of audience attrition, and the future of the remaining Marvel shows may be in doubt on the streaming service. But with the new Disney streaming service set to launch next year, there is always the possibility that they could shift to that platform.
Gotham to Reach 100 Episodes: When FOX announced that the upcoming fifth season of its Batman prequel series Gotham would be its last, the network ordered only ten episodes to wrap up the show’s story. But that has been extended to twelve in order to get the show to the 100th episode mark. The fifth season has its debut on Thursday January 3rd.
Casting News: Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) has joined the voice cast of BBC’s upcoming animated mini-series Watership Down. Already onboard that project are James McAvoy, John Boyega, Olivia Colman, and Ben Kingsley. Naomi Watts (Twin Peaks) has joined the cast of the Game of Thrones prequel The Long Night (more on that at this link) and will play one of the primary roles.
The Fall season is in full swing now with close to fifty new and returning sci fi and fantasy television shows. You can see the rundown of the Fall season at this link. And be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site throughout the season for the latest ratings results and status updates for your favorite shows.
