Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.
The Dead Walk On: AMC has officially announced plans for third series in The Walking Dead franchise, something that they had previously been hinting at. There are no details available on the series yet, but the company’s COO Ed Carroll has indicated that “we have hired creative people that have pitched story outlines”. The parent series in the franchise is currently experiencing ratings lows, but it is still the top scripted show on cable and I believe that it has a few more years yet before the network decides to wrap it up. But the announcement of the new series could mean that the writing is on the wall for Fear the Walking Dead which has continued to see its ratings drop over the last few years. That show returns for its fifth season later this year, and it is possible that it could wrap up at that point or perhaps go one more season to get it to a syndication friendly count of episodes. Stay tuned for more info on the new series as well as the fate of the two currently active shows.
Constantine Rising: According to We Got This Covered, an inside source has claimed that Warner Bros is working on a new Constantine series. That fan-favorite show ran on NBC for one season before getting cancelled and then the character was revived and brought into The CW’s Arrow-verse shows, also getting an animated mini-series on CWSeed.com. There are no details available yet about plans for a new show, nor is there an official confirmation that it will return. The CW has recently indicated that they would like to continue to grow the Arrow-verse shows despite the fact that the ratings have been down. There is also a possibility that a new Constantine show could land on the DC Universe streaming site, but then would it be merged in with the Titans universe (which includes Doom Patrol and the upcoming Swamp Thing), or remain part of the Arrow-verse? (Or would this be an opportunity to tie all those shows together?) John Constantine is currently a regular on Legends of Tomorrow, but word is that show could end next season during the Crisis on Infinite Earth cross-over event (see below). Perhaps that could also be setting up opportunity for the master of mystic arts to move to his own show. Stay tuned for more developments on this.
Project-Purge the Arrow-verse: There are rumors floating around that two of The CW’s Arrow-verse shows could end with next season’s Crisis on Infinite Earths cross-over event. We know that the cross-over will have ramifications for all the shows and bring them together in one universe, just like the original comic book series did. And according to We Got This Covered (who seem to have no end of inside sources at Warner Bros) Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow could be the shows coming to an end. Developments from this season’s Elseworlds cross-over definitely suggests the death of one of the major heroes from the Arrow-verse. And ratings-wise, both Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow are amongst the lowest rated of The CW’s superhero shows. I previously considered the fates of all the Arrow-verse shows and have Arrow and LoT as the most likely to go, so this news makes sense. And the network may hold off on making final season announcements so as not to spoil the events of the cross-over, so be prepared for some big changes next season.
Alan Tudyk Takes Up Residence at Syfy: Previously announced, Syfy picked up the pilot for the series Resident Alien based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name and starring Alan Tudyk. The network has now officially ordered that one to series. Fan-favorite actor Tudyk (Firefly, Doom Patrol) will be playing “an alien who crash-lands on Earth and assumes the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor named Harry Vanderspiegle, only to face the moral quandary of whether human beings are actually worth saving”. Syfy will be looking to get that show on its schedule later this year or early 2020.
Patton Oswalt Talks MODOK: Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt will be writing and producing the upcoming animated series MODOK for Hulu which is based on the Marvel character of the same name. He provided more detail about the show when he recently appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers:
I’m going to be voicing [MODOK]. He is a supervillain, he has super-intelligence, he has a forehead beam, he has all this technology. But, he is not on the A-level of Doctor Doom, and the Red Skull. So, not only does he hate all the heroes, he hates all the other villains because he’s so resentful. Getting to play that is going to be really fun.
This series will be joining other upcoming marvel animated entries on Hulu Howard the Duck, Tigra & Dazzler, and Hit-Monkey and all four will cross-over in The Offenders.
More Sci Fi TV New: ABC’s Agents of SHIELD could be ending with its seventh season (set for a 2020 debut) according to Clark Gregg . . . Under the Dome‘s Mike Vogel has been cast as the lead of ABC’s sci fi / fantasy pilot The Triangle . . The CW’s upcoming Batwoman series has no plans to introduce Batman to the Arrow-verse anytime soon . . . Production for the second season of Titans and the first season of Stargirl has been delayed but should not have a significant impact on either show.
As we head into the final months of the regular season, expect more news as well as renewal and cancellation announcements. 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.
