Sci Fi TV Update: Status updates, news, and developments on sci fi and fantasy television. For breaking news, be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site
Status Update
The creator of NBC’s cancelled Manifest appears to have given up hope that the show will move to a different venue to continue its planned six-season run (though fans are still fighting for it). But he still has hopes to produce some sort of resolution for the serialized drama that ended on a cliffhanger after its third season:
I’m reading the writing on the wall that we may not find a home for three more seasons of the show, so I moved to plan B: Some platform would bankroll a feature or a movie finale, like we saw with Timeless, Firefly, and Deadwood . . . I am personally sketching out how to consolidate the back half of the series into a much more streamlined, cut-to-the-chase two-hour finale that would distill all of the hanging chads of the series.
According to Jeff Rake, he would need a “modest budget” to put together a series finale movie that would wrap up many of the show’s storylines. Neither NBC nor Netflix (the streamer that considered picking up the show) have committed to anything at this point. But fans successfully lobbied NBC for a Timeless finale and Netflix for a Sense8 wrap up, so enough effort from Manifest fans could make this happen.
Digital Ratings
Netflix’s Lucifer repeated at the top of the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 for streaming originals for a second week after the release of the second half of its fifth season, pulling in 1.8 billion minutes of viewing. (That show has become a huge hit after the streamer saved it from cancellation by FOX. Maybe they need to reconsider their stance on Manifest?) Debuting at Number 2 for the week was Netflix’s fantasy drama Sweet Tooth which pulled in 794 million minutes of viewing. That is not necessarily a good indicator that the show will get a second season, though, as other Netflix entries like Jupiter’s Legacy, The Irregulars, and Away performed well in the rankings but were cancelled after one season. Holding at Number 4 was Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale which logged another 473 million minutes of viewing. Joining the chart at Number 5 was Netflix’s Norwegian fantasy entry Ragnarok (not to be confused with the Anime Record of Ragnarok on the same streamer) which had 404 million minutes of viewing for its second season premiere. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy entries on the streaming charts for the week of May 31st to June 6th (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Streaming Originals
1 (1) Lucifer (Netflix) 1.84 Billion
2 (n/a) Sweet Tooth (Netflix) 794 Million
4 (4) The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) 473 Million
5 (n/a) Ragnarok (Netflix) 404 Million
Acqiured Shows
10 (8) Supernatural (Netflix) 323 Million
Movies
6 (1) Army of the Dead (Netflix) 250 Million
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Renewal Announcement
Amazon has decided to continue its Good Omens mini-series into an ongoing series and has ordered a second season of the show. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, the mini-series originally premiered in May 2019. It was well-received by critics and fans as were its leads Michael Sheen as the angel Aziraphale and David Tennant as the demon Crowley (religious groups took offense at the show, though, and incorrectly lobbied Netflix to cancel it). The second season will consist of six episodes and will start filming later this year.
Sci Fi TV Development
J.J. Abrams and Angela Robinson are working on a new HBO Max series that will focus on the DC Comics character Madame X. Deadline provides the following information:
The character, also known as Nima or Nimue, is a clairvoyant who uses tarot cards to tell the future, she can levitate objects, teleport and banish minor demons. She is immortal, never aging and unable to be killed in any manner, thanks to her deal with Death. She first appeared in 1978, having been designed by Michael William Kaluta with a storyline developed by David Michelinie and Val Mayerik and in later comics has a full time-job as a psychic at a law firm to help solve crimes.
The character appeared in the short-lived 2019 live-action Swamp Thing series played by Jeryl Prescott. But Abrams and Robinson will almost certainly be looking to go a new direction and will cast a different actress.
Sci Fi TV News of Note
Another attempt at a Galaxy Quest TV series is in the works with Simon Pegg attached. He is working on adapting the Star Trek spoof for the small screen with Veep writer Georgia Pritchett. This is very early in development and no network is attached at this point . . . Noah Hawley discussed his upcoming Alien television series for FX and made the comment that it is not about Ripley because he believes her story “has been told pretty perfectly, and I don’t want to mess with it”. His series will start out on Earth and will deal with the inequality of those “doing the dirty work” vs. those “who are sending them”. It is currently scheduled to start filming next Spring . . . Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and Julius Onah are working on the alt-history drama The American Throne. It will take place in a modern-day America which was originally founded as a monarchy. No network is attached at the moment, but Esmail is under a development with deal with UCP which is owned by NBCUniversal . . . ABC has passed on several of its pilots from this year, but the fantasy entry Epic is still in contention. Coming from Once Upon A Time creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, the show is planned as an anthology focusing on various fairy tale characters. Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.
Sci Fi TV Schedule
The month of July will be bringing quite a number of sci fi and fantasy original movies and series to the streaming services. Premiering today on Amazon’s Prime Video is the sci fi blockbuster The Tomorrow War which stars Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, and J.K. Simmons. In mid-July, the AHS spin-off series American Horror Stories will stream exclusively on Hulu as part of FX on Hulu. And later in July, Kevin Smith’s revival of Masters of the Universe will have its premiere on Netflix. Plus, next week Black Widow will be available to stream on Disney+, though that will be at an additional cost. You can see the full rundown of July streaming premieres at this link.
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
