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.
There has not been much in the way of sci fi TV news this week with coverage of the Coronavirus dominating the headlines. But there have been quite a number of production shutdowns due to the current crisis. So instead of the usual Weekly Sci Fi TV Top 5, I have put together a list of notable genre entries impacted by these shutdowns. You can see a list of all television shows impacted at this link.
1. Pilots in Production: The pilots that the networks would have been considering for the upcoming 2020-21 season have almost all been halted by the shutdowns. Genre entries in this group include The Brides (ABC), Ghosts (CBS), Debris (NBC), The Lost Boys (CW), and more (you can see a full rundown on the sci fi and fantasy TV pilots at this link). Some of these may be pushed and considered for mid-season debuts. Some may get cancelled if they were not far enough along in production. Word is that The CW’s Lost Boys reboot was close enough to completion and may end up as one of the few pilots network execs have a chance to review this Spring.
2. Supernatural (CW): Production was shutdown on this show just as it was wrapping up its fifteenth and final season. There is no word on how many episodes were left to film, but I expect they will be completed at some point. Jared Padalecki was set to begin work on The CW’s reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger after finishing up Supernatural, but I am guessing future productions will be pushed as well. The final episodes may not air until later in the year, but they will certainly give this one a proper send-off after fifteen years.
3. The 100 (CW): The final season of The CW’s post-apocalyptic series was also impacted, but it is not clear if they managed to complete the filming before the production was shutdown. If there was a delay in completing the final episodes, expect them to hit the air at some point after production resumes.
4. MacGyver (CBS): Production on this CBS spy fi series has been shutdown and will not resume for the fourth season. The number of episodes completed has not been revealed, but I expect the show to be back for a fifth year. It was already tracking towards renewal with decent numbers for a Friday entry, and the network will likely want the show to get to at least the hundred episode threshold to make it more attractive to the syndication market. A fifth season should get it past that point.
5. The Walking Dead Franchise (AMC): AMC’s TWD was shutdown before it completed the filming on the current season. It is unclear how many episodes were left unfinished, but this show may not have its usual season finale with the remaining episodes likely carried over to next year. Fear the Walking Dead shutdown production on its upcoming sixth season which will delay its start to late Summer or possibly Fall. The upcoming Walking Dead: The World Beyond has delayed its premiere, which was set for April 12th, until later this year.
6. Snowpiercer (TNT): This series already has its premiere set for May 31st and I expect that will still happen because the networks will want to get what they can on the air due to the upcoming dearth of programming. However, this and other new shows hitting the schedule may face an unintended consequence of airing a partial season. If the show starts airing its completed episodes before production resumes and the ratings are not to the network’s liking, the rest of the season could get scrapped. We will have to see how this one performs when it debuts, but it is possible that some new shows could get yanked quickly due to the production crunch.
7. Y: The Last Man (FX): The troubled adaptation of the Brian K. Vaughan comic just can’t catch a break. The show just recently had to recast its lead and has also seen its original showrunners depart from the production.
Now the shutdowns will delay its arrival further. But it is still moving forward at this point.
8. Superman & Lois (CW): This series will be an addition to the Arrow-verse shows next season, but its start may be delayed due to the shutdowns. It was a direct-to-series order, though, so the show is still going forward and will likely debut with the other Fall shows which will almost certainly also experience delays.
9. The Rest of The CW Shows: Almost all of The CW’s currently airing shows are impacted by the production shutdowns, and that will likely affect how their seasons end. Its possible the network will just air the completed episodes and then pick up next season where they left off (in other words, no big finale episodes). All of the nework’s genre entries have already been renewed (except Supernatural and The 100 which are in their final seasons), so at least there is no worry of the shows getting cancelled and leaving fans hanging.
10. Bubble Shows: There are several shows from the current season that are facing uncertain fates such as Emergence (ABC), The Purge (USA), and Dispatches from Elsewhere (AMC). With pilots likely delayed, the shutdowns could actually be good for these shows. The networks may decide to keep them going because it is easier to ramp up production on an existing show and they will likely have open slots to fill on next year’s schedule. I discuss this in more detail at this link.
>PRIOR POST: Jurassic World Series in the Works, Unannounced Tron Series Scrapped, and More
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