Sci Fi TV Top 5 (Plus): Covering the top sci fi and fantasy TV stories of interest from the past week. You can keep up with the sci fi and fantasy TV news headlines throughout the week at r/SciFiTV on Twitter and on Reddit.
With the TCAs going on this past week–when the network execs address the television critics association–there has been quite a lot of sci fi TV news. Here is a quick rundown of the Top 10 stories.
1. No Second Season Currently in the Works for Watchmen
HBO programming chief Casey Bloys claimed at the TCAs that a second season of the Watchmen series–based on the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic of the same not–was completely up to showrunner Damon Lindelof:
It’s really in Damon’s thinking about what he wants to do. If there’s an idea that excited him about another season, another installment, maybe like a Fargo, True Detective (anthology) take on it, or if he wants to do something different altogether. We’re very proud of Watchmen, but what I’m most interested in what Damon wants to do.
Lindelof, however, as said that he has told the story he wanted to tell and had previously indicated that the show could only run one season. He has given his “blessing” for the network to do a second season without him, but Bloys considers that unlikely, though, saying “it would be hard to imagine doing it without Damon involved in some way”. The show was not a breakout hit, but it did perform solidly once digital and delayed viewing was factored in.
2. Superman & Lois Series Officially Picked Up by The CW
The Arrow-verse will be adding at least one more new series this coming season as The CW has placed a direct-to-series order for Superman & Lois. According to Hollywood Reporter, the series will follow the titular couple “as they deal with stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today’s society”. Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch, who originated the roles on Supergirl, will star in the series. The CW decided to forego the pilot stage with this one by ordering it straight to series. A female-led Arrow spin-off is also being considered and a backdoor pilot will air as one of the final episodes of the parent series.
3. The Dark Tower TV Series Not Moving Forward at Amazon
Amazon has decided to pass on the television adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower which it had in the works. The long-in-development series which has Glen Mazzara attached as executive producer/showrunner has faced multiple hurdles, but its production company will shop it around to other venues. The series is considered separate from the 2017 movie which performed poorly in the theaters and is attempting a more faithful adaptation of King’s book series. Amazon currently has the costly productions Wheel Of Time and The Lord Of the Rings in the works, and network execs did not believe that The Dark Tower, also considered a fantasy tale, would hold its weight next to those.
4. Confederate Will Not Go Forward at HBO
The previously announced series Confederate, from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, will not be going forward at HBO. The series was to be set in an alternate history where the South won the Civil War and slavery is still practiced. It would be set in the equivalent of modern-day as the country heads toward a third civil war. When first announced, the subject matter stirred up plenty of controversy. Now that Benioff and Weiss have signed a major deal with Netflix, HBO has decided to drop Confederate from their development slate. Whether the creators will try to bring it to Netflix remains to be seen.
5. AMC Is Still Considering a Third Season of The Terror
AMC execs are keeping the door open for a third year of the season-long historical horror anthology The Terror. That series performed very strong in its first season which followed a doomed expedition to the Northwest Passage. The second season, based in a World War II internment camp for Asian-Americans, did not perform as well in the ratings. The show’s production company, Scott Free, has pitched ideas for a third season and the network currently has those under consideration.
6. Snowpiercer Finally Gets a Premiere Date on TNT
The long-in-development television spin-off to the 2013 feature film Snowpiercer finally has a premiere date on TNT. The series, which stars Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly, was originally put in development back in 2015. In 2016, TNT jumped onboard and ordered a pilot with Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) attached as writer and showrunner. He departed due to creative differences which was the beginning of multiple behind-the-scenes shake ups for the show. It got back on track this past year and briefly changed networks to TBS, but now it is back at TNT. The series will have its long-awaited debut on May 31st.
7. NBC Announces Launch Date and Pricing Tiers for Its Peacock Streaming Service
The streaming wars are really heating up this year and NBC is looking for its new platform Peacock to be a major player. It is set for an early launch on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex on April 15 and will be rolled out universally on July 15th. According to Deadline Hollywood, three versions will be available:
A free, ad-supported one; a more robust, ad-supported one that will be free to Comcast and Cox Cable subscribers, and $5 for everyone else; and an offering with no ads that is $5 for Comcast and Cox subscribers and $10 for everyone else.
The service will offer many television shows and movies from the NBCUniversal vaults, and there are also currently plans for a Brave New World series as well as (another) reboot of Battlestar: Galactica which will come from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail.
8. MacGruber Will Be Joining Peacock
In addition to the shows mentioned above, NBC has announced that a MacGruber series will be joining the streaming originals available on the Peacock service. That parody of the spy fi series MacGyver began as a series of skits on Saturday Night Live, with Will Forte portraying the character, and then it graduated to a feature film in 2010. The film was not a hit, but apparently NBC has decided to pull MacGruber out of retirement for a TV series. Will Forte will return to the role and executive produce along with Lorne Michaels.
9. AMC Sets Premiere Date for Walking Dead Spin-Off
AMC has set the premiere date for the second spin-off to its breakout hit The Walking Dead. To be titled The Walking Dead: World Beyond, the series will have its debut on the cable channel on April 12th. Following is the official synopsis for the series:
The Walking Dead: World Beyond expands the universe of The Walking Dead, delving into a new mythology and story that follows the first generation raised in a surviving civilization of the post-apocalyptic world. Two sisters along with two friends leave a place of safety and comfort to brave dangers, known and unknown, living and undead on an important quest. Pursued by those who wish to protect them and those who wish to harm them, a tale of growing up and transformation unfurls across dangerous terrain, challenging everything they know about the world, themselves and each other. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. But all of them will find the truths they seek.
The series stars Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Annet Mahendru, Nicolas Cantu, and Hal Cumpston and was created by Scott M. Gimple and Matt Negrete
10. AMC Has Multiple Genre Dramas in Development
AMC has been the home to quite a number of sci fi and fantasy entries over the past decade including The Walking Dead, Into the Badlands, NOS4A2, and The Terror. The network announced its development slate at the TCAs and following are the genre entries it currently has in the works:
Sleeping Beauties: In a small Appalachian town, there’s a strange mystical occurrence that causes all the women to fall asleep, leaving the men to try and rescue them. But do the women want to be rescued? Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.
Bunny: A lonely student is drawn into a mysterious clique of girls called The Bunnies and begins to partake in their strange off-campus ritual – conjuring boys from rabbits, where the good ones stay as romantic partners and the bad ones are mercilessly axed.
Pantheon: In this animated drama set in a world where uploaded consciousness is not just science fiction, a young woman begins receiving messages from an unknown number that claims to be her deceased father. Trying to uncover the truth, she stumbles upon a larger conspiracy involving the singularity.
Nigeria 2099: Set in a futuristic world, NIGERIA 2099 tells the story of Sgt. Charles Opkara, a local police officer in a poor district of Lagos. Assigned to protect a visiting American businessman staking out his district, Sgt. Charles begins to unravel a global conspiracy over depleting resources.
The Sparrow: In the near future, humans on Earth receive their first evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life when a radio telescope picks up a strange signal, sounding like exquisite music, from a distant planet that will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible expedition, the Jesuit leadership quietly organizes an eight-person scientific mission of its own, comprised of a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. What they find is a world so far beyond comprehension that it will lead them to challenge the very notions of humanity and faith itself.
All of these will be considered for the network’s schedule over the coming year and more.
THE SCHED: Star Trek Picard Has Its Debut on CBS All Access
The highly-anticipated Star Trek Picard finally has its debut on CBS All Access this coming week. The series will premiere on Thursday January 23rd on the streaming service and will release one episode a week. Also, on Tuesday History’s UFO-investigation drama Project Blue Book returns for its second season. And Part 3 of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has its debut on Netflix on Friday with all episodes available that day. You can see the full schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows at this link and you can keep up with the weekly listings at this link.
>PRIOR POST: ABC Wants More Marvel Superheroes, Young Frankenstein, and the Brides of Dracula
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