Sci Fi TV News Briefs: Quick hits keeping you updated on sci fi and fantasy television news.
NBC’s Peacock Arrives in 2020: NBC has announced that its new streaming service–which will launch in 2020–will be named Peacock, and it will bring in some big names to help kick it off. The upcoming Brave New World series, based on the Aldous Huxley novel of the same name, will shift from USA to the new Peacock service. And a new Battlestar: Galactica series from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail will also be on the slate. Esmail has claimed on Twitter this will not be a reboot:
BSG fans, this will NOT be a remake of the amazing series @RonDMoore launched because… why mess with perfection? Instead, we’ll explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar. So say we all!
— Sam Esmail (@samesmail) September 17, 2019
The Peacock service is scheduled to launch in Spring 2020. A price point for the service has not been established yet.
Showtime Orders Spoonbenders: The premium cable service Showtime as given a pilot order for the supernatural drama Spoonbenders based on the 2017 novel by Daryl Gregory. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description for the project:
Spoonbenders is a genre-busting saga about The Amazing Telemachus Family, a traveling family magic act — that happened to be made up of people with actual magic powers — and the tragedy that finds them 25 years later, forced to reunite when old debts, long-running grudges, the mob, and the CIA all come looking for them.
Stephen Falk and uber-producer Greg Berlanti will be executive producing and Showtime will be considering this for their 2020 slate.
AMC Believes TWD will Keep Walking: Despite the fact that ratings have been down significantly for The Walking Dead and its prequel series Fear the Walking Dead, AMC executives believe the franchise will remain on the air for many years to come. CEO Josh Sapan had the following to say in a recent webcast: “We have an awful lot of life left in The Walking Dead — I mean decades and decades of life left”. He did not indicate if he believes the main show itself will go on that long, or if it will continue with spin-offs. The Walking Dead was at series low ratings levels last season, but still remains one of the top-rated scripted shows on television. Its tenth season debuts in October, and Fear the Walking Dead has been renewed for a sixth season. There is also another spin-off series in the works for 2020 plus three movies on the way that will focus on Rick Grimes.
Netflix Goes to Denmark for Equinox: Netflix has ordered the Danish supernatural drama Equinox which is based on the popular podcast Equinox 1985. Variety gives the following description for the series:
Equinox takes place in Denmark and follows a woman named Anna, who was traumatized by the mysterious disappearance of a school class in 1999, when she was 10. Twenty years later, Anna sets off to discover what happened to the class when she finds out that the only survivor from 1999 mysteriously died. The character-driven series toggles between 1999 and the present time.
Six episodes have been ordered and this will likely join the streamer’s lineup of originals at some point in 2020.
Showtime Will Not Be a Kingkiller: Showtime has passed on the television adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Kingkiller Chronicle books. Lionsgate Television is producing the series and they are now shopping that around to other venues. Apple TV is among the venues being targetted for the show’s new home. Hollywood Reporter gives the following description for the project:
The Kingkiller Chronicle depicts the life and times of Kvothe, a magically gifted young man and famous musician who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The potential series will follow a pair of wandering performers on their adventures through the unique and startling world of Temerant, immersing audiences in a universe of unexpected heroes, mystical places and terrifying dark forces.
With many venues scrambling for an epic fantasy series to fill up the void left by Game of Thrones, there should be plenty of interest in this property.
Production Notes: Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel series will film in New Zealand, the same location used for the Peter Jackson movies. Steven S. DeKnight has departed as showrunner from Netflix’s superhero series Jupiter Legacy midway through production of the first season due to “creative differences”. Mitch Pileggi and Cara Buono have been cast as the ancient aliens Rama Khan and Gamemnae in the upcoming fifth season of Supergirl. Marilyn Manson has been cast as Johan Wengren in the upcoming third season of Starz’s American Gods.
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