Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.
New Location? Netflix has cancelled three of its Marvel Universe shows–Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist–and it is looking like both The Punisher and Jessica Jones will be ending as well (and The Defenders was allegedly a one-season “event” series), but it’s not because of a lack of viewers. Disney, who owns Marvel and will own you and me soon, apparently did not want its own properties competing with its upcoming Disney+ streaming service, and apparently the Mouse House was a large part of the reason those shows are ending. Fans have been lobbying for a continuation of Daredevil and the other shows, but it seems unlikely that these R-Rated entries would move to the family friendly Disney streaming service. There is another viable option with Hulu, though, because Disney has an ownership stake in that streamer. The Wrap talked with Hulu senior vice president of originals Craig Erwich and he had this to say: “Marvel has a ton of titles we’d be interested in. It kind of just depends on when they’re ready, [and] who, most importantly, is going to be behind these things”. Hulu already has Marvel’s Runaways and just announced that it will be doing adult-oriented animated shows based on several Marvel characters including Howard the Duck that will culminate in a team-up series titled The Offenders. So the streamer could definitely be seen as the go to location for more mature properties owned by Disney. It would be two years before Daredevil or the other shows could jump streaming services because of the deal Netflix has in place, but it is definitely possible that something could happen. Fans continue to lobby for a return of Daredevil, and this news should energize their campaign and get it focused on Hulu as the most likely savior.
Walking Off: Warning, spoilers ahead for the next season of The Walking Dead. Another cast member will be departing from AMC’s TWD as Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne, will exit the show during its tenth season. The actress has signed a deal to appear in a few episodes next season, but the exact point of departure has not been indicated yet. There is also no word on whether she could return at some point or this will be her final appearance. Andrew Hudson and Lauren Cohan both departed from the series this season, but Rick Grimes will return in a series of movies and Maggie could be back at some point as well. Gurira is the latest in a number of high-profile departures from TWD over the last few years.
Ghastly Tales: Shudder’s upcoming horror anthology series Creepshow, based on the 1982 George Romero/Stephen King film, has begun production and announced the stories that it will be doing in its first season. Following is the list of stories and their writers:
- By the Silvery Waters of Lake Champlain by Joe Hill (NOS4A2)
- House of the Head by Josh Malerman (Bird Box)
- The Companion by Joe Lansdale (The Bottoms)
- The Man in the Suitcase by Christopher Buehlman (The Lesser Dead)
- All Hallows Eve by Bruce Jones (The Hitchhiker)
- Night of the Paw by John Esposito (The Walking Dead: Webisodes)
- Bad Wolf Down by Rob Schrab (Monster House)
You can get more detail on those at this link. Creepshow is targeting a Fall 2019 debut.
Streaming Wars: Warner Bros. has a new streaming service to be called WarnerMedia in the works and Chief Creative Officer Kevin Reilly has said that they are “very interested” in putting the Arrow-verse shows–which are owned by WB–on that platform. Currently, Netflix has all of the past seasons of those shows and begins streaming the current season eight days after it wraps up its broadcast run. The Archie comics series Riverdale, which performs very well on Netflix, could be part of that as well . . . And as if we do not already have enough streaming channels, the cable network Epix has launched Epix Now with offerings from MGM, Paramount, and Lionsgate. That network’s upcoming Batman pre-prequel series Pennyworth will also be available on that service.
Coming to Prime Time: The British-made supernatural series A Discovery of Witches will get a linear viewing debut in the States on BBC America and AMC starting in April. That series comes from Sky and debuted on the Shudder and Sundance Now streaming services in the U.S. last month. The show, which has already been renewed through a third season by Sky, broke viewing records for Sundance Now, and corporate owner AMC has decided to give it more exposure on its cable channels. It will debut on BBC America and AMC on April 7th.
The TCAs are going on currently when the networks talk with the critics about their current and upcoming schedules, so expect more breaking news over the next week or so. Be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news as well as the latest ratings results.
