Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.
Pilot Announcement: The CW introduced Batwoman, played by Ruby Rose, in its Elseworlds cross-over event this past Fall and now the character may be jumping to her own series. The network has ordered a pilot for a standalone series and will be considering the show for its Fall 2019 lineup. David Nutter, who has previously worked on Arrow and The Flash as well as Game of Thrones, has been attached as the director for the pilot. The news should come as no surprise because the network already indicated that it was interested in a Batwoman series when the character was first announced to appear in the cross-over. There were early rumors that the show could start as early as Mid-Season, but it appears that the network is not rushing into development on this one. Next season’s Arrow-verse cross-over has been announced as Crisis on Infinite Earths and I have theorized that the event could be used to shake up the network’s superhero shows with the possibility that several could end. The arrival of a Batwoman series could definitely have an impact on that as I discuss in more detail at this link. If the show does get picked up, it will be the first superhero television series with a gay character as its lead, though Legends of Tomorrow paved for the way for that with Sara Lance / White Canary as the leader of that team. The series will presumably follow the adventures of Batwoman as she fights crime in Gotham city after her cousin Bruce Wayne, and his alter-ego Batman, have disappeared. The CW will be considering this among the pilots it will review this Spring and should announce whether it will be picked up as a series in the lead up to the May Upfronts when the networks unveil their Fall 2019 schedules.
Return to SHIELD: Adrianne Palicki has indicated that she would like to return to Agents of SHIELD as Bobbi Morse. She played the character in the show’s second and third seasons, and a spin-off was proposed titled Marvel’s Most Wanted in which she would have been on the run with her partner and ex-husband Lance Hunter (played by Nick Blood). The pilot for that series was never picked up, though, and the characters did not continue as regulars on AoS. Palicki is currently the co-lead on FOX’s The Orville, but has said in an interview with TVLine that “if they ask me to come back, I would absolutely come back”, presumably in a guest-starring or recurring role. Nick Blood returned to the show to reprise Lance Hunter in the show’s fifth season. The sixth season is set to air this Summer and it has already been picked up for a seventh season.
Scheduling News: Netflix has announced January 16th as the premiere date for the second season of The Punisher and it has released a trailer which you can see at this link. The interactive episode of Black Mirror “Bandersnatch” debuted on Netflix on December 28th and has pushed back the arrival of the full fifth season. But according to series creator Charlie Booker, that is on the way and will debut at some point in 2019.
Mid-Season is upon us bringing over forty new and returning sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the full schedule at this link. 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.
