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.
Bad Robot Is Bringing Justice League Dark and Overlook to HBO Max
J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions worked out a development deal with the upcoming HBO Max streaming service last September, and now they are moving forward with two new genre shows. The first will be based on DC’s Justice League Dark comic which follows a branch of the Justice League that deals with supernatural threats. Among the characters that have appeared in the comics are John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, and Doctor Mist. There is no word at this point on whether Matt Ryan would play Constantine in the series. He previously played the character in the short-lived NBC series and is currently a member of Legends of Tomorrow on The CW. Also in the works is the supernatural drama Overlook which is inspired by Stephen King’s The Shining and will focus on the haunted Overlook Hotel. That one may follow a season-long anthology format similar to Hulu’s Castle Rock. Bad Robot will also be producing the non-genre thiller Duster for HBO Max.
The Left Right Game Heads to Amazon
Amazon’s Prime Video is developing a television series based on the popular podcast The Left Right Game. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description of the storyline from the podcast:
In the audio drama, an idealistic journalist (Thompson) tries to make a name for herself by following a group of paranormal explorers, obsessed with a seemingly harmless pastime known as the Left/Right Game. The journey takes her into a supernatural world that she and the other members of the expedition cannot handle. Or survive.
Amazon won the rights to the property in a competitive bidding situation.
Westworld‘s star Tessa Thompson led the voice cast and will be onboard as executive producer for the series (no word yet on if she will be in front of the camera as well). Amazon will be looking to add this to its lineup of originals likely in 2021.
Netflix Order Korean Zombie Series All of Us Are Dead
The streaming giant has announced that it will produce the Korean zombie-pocalypse series All of Us are Dead, based on the popular webtoon Now at Our School. Variety gives the following description of the storyline:
[All of Us Are Dead] focuses on a group of high school students who are faced with an extreme crisis situation when they become trapped in their school, while a zombie virus spreads like a wildfire.
Netflix currently has another Korean zombie series as part of its lineup with Kingdom which just released its second season. The streamer will likely be targetting a 2021 premiere date for All of Us Are Dead.
Joshua Wong’s Invasion Heads to Television
A television series is in the works based on writer/director Joshua Wong’s short film Invasion. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description for the project:
Invasion kicks off after a mysterious signal is transmitted through cellular devices across Hong Kong, subduing and immobilizing the population, and leaving only a group of ragtag kids — with no phones — and a bunch of technophobic senior citizens to rally together against the robot invasion.
Endless Media and Hong Kong’s The Laundromatte are producing the series and filming will begin once the current production shutdown ends. No network is currently attached to the series.
Killadelphia: Sins of the Father Gets Television Adaptation
Levantine Films has acquired the rights to the comic series Killadelphia: Sins of the Father, created by Rodney Barnes’ and Jason Shawn Alexander, and will adapt it as a television series. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description of the story:
Done in crime horror noir style, the death of revered detective James Sangster Sr. brings his estranged son James Jr., a Baltimore street cop, back home to Philadelphia to bury him. Jr. discovers his father’s journal which details his last case where a series of mysterious murders possibly supernatural in nature and he follows the clues, which is a trip down a macabre rabbit hole filled with horror and mystery.
Barnes will be onboard the project as executive producer. No network is attached to the series at this point.
THE SCHED: Penny Dreadful City of Angels Has Its Premiere on Showtime
Yet another week with not much in the way of sci fi TV programming, but there is one premiere on the way and The CW’s Arrow-verse shows will be returing with new episodes. On Sunday, Showtime’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels has its premiere at 10 PM EST. That one is a spin-off from 2014’s Penny Dreadful and is set in the same universe. On Tuesday, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow resume new episodes after their short break driven by the production shutdowns. And on Sunday, Batwoman and Supergirl returning to the fold. All four will air new episodes for the next few weeks until they wrap up their current seasons which were cut short. The remaining planned episodes will get pushed to next season. 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
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