Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.
The Return of Hannibal: Bryan Fuller indicated in a recent tweet that he has still not given up on trying to do a fourth season of Hannibal:
No one has given up! I’ve made it clear I want to do it, the cast wants to do it and Martha wants to do it. We just need a network or a streaming service that wants to do it, too. I don’t feel there’s a clock on it or an expiration date for the idea. We just need someone to bite.
— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) May 27, 2019
That series, which starred Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, was cancelled by NBC after three low-rated seasons. Fuller tried to lobby one of the streaming services to pick up the show after the cancellation, but nothing could be worked out (in part because of the NBC held the rights to the show for several years). The fourth season was supposed to adapt the Silence of the Lambs story and Fuller had wanted Lee Pace to play the role of Buffalo Bill. But maybe if fans were to get a social campaign going, it could generate interest in the show once again.
The Zombie-Pocalypse Comes to Hulu: The streaming service Hulu and the British network ITV are working together on the zombie comedy Zomboat. Variety gives the following description for the series:
The story follows the aftermath of a zombie onslaught being unleashed on the British city of Birmingham. Sisters Kat and Jo, together with unlikely travel companions Sunny and Amar, flee for their lives, by canal boat.
Leah Brotherhead, Hamza Jeetooa, Ryan McKen, and Cara Theobold will star in the series. It was created by Adam Miller and Will Hartley who will also executive produce. Expect the show to arrive late 2019 or early 2020.
Netflix Heads to Egypt: Netflix continues to expand its international presence as it has picked up the Egyptian adaptation of Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s novel Paranormal. Following is the description of the series provided by Deadline Hollywood:
Set in the 1960s, the series, packed with mystery and suspense, depicts the adventures of Dr. Refaat Ismail, a single hematologist who finds himself faced with a series of supernatural events.
Amr Salama will be executive producer and showrunner and Mohamed Hefzy will be executive producer. The series will likely be filmed in Egyptian language with English subtitles provided in the U.S.
Hulu Has Eyes for the Dragon: Hulu has its own epic fantasy in the works as it has picked up the television adaptation of Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon. Deadline Hollywood gives the following extended description of the book:
Dragon takes place in fictional realm of Delain and tells the story of power and the path of two prince brothers. King Roland’s manipulative magician, Flagg, sees his power threatened when Queen Sasha gives birth to Peter, an heir to the throne. When the queen is pregnant with a second son, Flagg gets her midwife to mortally wound the queen and so begins his plot to dispose of the future king. Peter brings wine to his father’s bed chambers each night and Flagg poisons the potion and frames the son. The magician has meanwhile also been manipulating the younger son, Thomas, showing him secret passages where the boy can spy on his father. Thomas sees the murder of the king and the frameup of his brother, but is torn when Peter is found guilty and locked in an enormous tower. After all with Peter gone, he’s king at age 12. He allows Flagg widespread power that corrupts the kingdom. Meanwhile, Peter must attempt an escape to thwart Flagg and win back the throne.
The book borrows mythology and characters from King’s Dark Tower series as well as his epic apocalyptic novel The Stand. Seth Grahame-Smith will be the writer, showrunner, and executive producer for the show and he will be joined by David Katzenberg as executive producer. Expect this one to arrive on the streaming service at some point in 2020.
Netflix Joins the Magic Order: Netflix has picked up another Mark Millar series, this one based on his comic The Magic Order. The Wrap gives the following description of the series:
Five families of magicians sworn to protect our world must battle an enemy who’s picking them off one by one. By day they live among us as our neighbors, friends and co-workers, but by night they are the sorcerers, magicians and wizards that protect us from the forces of darkness — unless the darkness gets them first.
James Wan will executive produce and Lindsay Beer will be the writer and showrunner for the series. Expect this one to debut on the streaming service in 2020.
Casting News: Tricia Helfer, David Arquette and Dana Gould have been cast to star in segments of the upcoming horror anthology Creepshow which will run on AMC’s Shudder streaming service. Jessica Brown Findlay has been cast in the role of Lenina Crowne in the upcoming adaptation of Brave New World which will air on USA.
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A look back at forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of sci fi and fantasy TV with Sci Fi TV Genre Gems.
