Sci Fi TV Top 5: 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.
1. Netflix Is Looking to Make a Deal with Lucifer
After FOX cancelled the supernatural series Lucifer following its third season, Netflix picked up the show and renewed it through a fifth season. That fifth year was announced as the last for the show, but now apparently the streaming service is considering extending its deal with the Devil. According to TVLine, Netflix is in talks with Warner Bros. Television about continuing the show for a sixth season. Whether that would be its last remains to be seen. Another ten episodes would make sense because that would get it to 87 total which is a number that is much more attractive to the syndication market (where shows really turn a profit). Netflix has exclusive rights to the TV series at the moment, but Warner Bros. could look to syndicate it at a future time. Note that there has been no official confirmation on the sixth season yet, so stay tuned for further developments.
2. Scott Bakula Is Ready to Take the Leap
Scott Bakula, who starred in Quantum Leap from 1989 to 1993, has indicated that he would be interested if a reboot of the series were to happen. NBC has indicated that is may revisit the show for its upcoming Peacock streaming service, though no official production announcement has been made yet. Discussing the prospects of a reboot on The Talk, Bakula had this to say:
I don’t know, I don’t know. But I know the fans would love to have a reboot. There are so many things going on right now that need to be put right, that are currently going wrong, that (Beckett) would be very, very busy. Lots to do.
The original series did end with some degree of uncertainty, so a reboot could address the fate of Samuel Beckett and continue his adventures, or perhaps bring on a new Leaper. This is a developing story, so fans of the show should keep an eye out for updates.
3. RIP Robert Conrad, the Man Who Put the West in The Wild, Wild, West
Actor Robert Conrad passed away this past week at the age of 84. He is best known to sci fi fans for playing James West in the western spy fi series The Wild Wild West for four seasons from 1965 to 1969. He later reprised the role in the TV films The Wild Wild West Revisited in 1979 and More Wild Wild West in 1980. He also starred in A Man Called Sloane in 1979, which found him once again in a super spy role, though in a modern day setting. Conrad had not been active in acting for the majority of the past twenty years of his life.
4. The War of the Worlds Will Happen on AMC Premiere
AMC’s streaming service AMC Premiere has picked up the BBC’s adaptation of The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description for the mini-series:
The War of the Worlds is set in Edwardian England and follows George, played by Spall, and his partner Amy, played by Tomlinson, as they attempt to start a life together against the escalating terror of an alien invasion.
The three-part series already aired in Britain in Fall 2019. A premiere on the AMC streaming service has not been set yet. A recent French television series also adapted the novel and set it in modern times. That aired in Europe in Fall 2019 and will premiere on Epix in the States on February 16th.
5. Renewal Announcement: Avenue 5 Will Continue for a Second Season on HBO
HBO has given a second season renewal to is space-based comedy series Avenue 5. That news comes as a bit of a surprise considering that the show has not performed well in the ratings early in its run, currently averaging only a 0.12 score based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic. It has consistently come in below The Outsider and Curb Your Enthusiasm on Sundays (its lead-in and lead-out shows) so far this season. But then the premium cable channels do not pay as much attention to the same-day viewing because they do not rely on advertising from sponsors who want viewers watching when the episode airs live. Still, the ratings do act as a leading indicator and suggest that the show (which arrived with very little promotion) has not built up much of an audience yet. It may be performing better in delayed and digital viewing, and the premium channels do pay close attention to those stats. Keep up with the status of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Weekly Roundup column.
THE SCHED: The Walking Dead Returns from Hiatus, Star Wars: The Clones Returns for Season 7
This coming week will see The Walking Dead return to the schedule after its Winter hiatus. The show will resume new episodes in its normal Sunday 9 PM EST timeslot and will be followed by discussion series The Talking Dead. Also this week, the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars returns to television for a seventh and final season which will give it the chance to wrap up its storylines. It debuts on Disney+ on Friday and will release one episode per week. 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.
More from CancelledSciFi.com
Keep up with the ratings developments and the status of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Weekly Roundup posts. And join the #CancelledSciFiArmy on Twitter to bolster our ranks and help us fight for the struggling and cancelled sci fi and fantasy shows.
Check out our Sci Fi TV Schedule for debut and season finale dates and follow our Weekly Listings for a rundown of the shows airing in the current week.
Check back each Saturday for Sci Fi TV Retrospectives: A look back at cancelled, classic, forgotten, and more genre shows from the past.
