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
Renewal Announcements
TNT’s post-apocalyptic series Snowpiercer will remain on track as it has been renewed for a fourth according to a tweet from series start David Diggs:
The train never never stops… it’s official @SnowpiercerTV is coming back for season 4!! @TNTDrama #Snowpiercer pic.twitter.com/bqINyMi0Mh
— Daveed Diggs (@DaveedDiggs) July 29, 2021
The third season premiere for that one has not been announced yet (it will likely be early 2022), but the network has enough confidence in the show to keep it going it for at least one more season. It is based on the 2013 movie of the same name directed by Bong Joon-ho and takes place on a massive train carrying the last remnants of humanity across a frozen Earth.
Also receiving a renewal this week is Netflix’s post-apocalyptic fantasy Sweet Tooth. Apparenlty the announcement was including in marketing materials sent to the press in order to help promote the news. That show has had strong viewership numbers in the Nielsen Streaming Top 10, but that does not always guarantee a renewal from Netflix. Shows like Jupiter’s Legacy, The Irregulars, and Away also performed well in those charts but were cancelled after one season. Sweet Tooth will be given the chance to continue into a second year, but don’t expect more than three or four seasons seeing as that streamer usually caps off its originals at that point (more on that at this link). The series is based on the comic of the same name and takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where hybrid babies that are part human and part animal must be protected from the rest of humanity.
Digital Ratings
Manifest topped the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 chart for acquired shows for a fourth week in a row and was the most-watched show across all streaming in the U.S. for a third week in a row according to the ratings aggregator. It held onto the Number 1 slot with an estimated 1.9 billion minutes of viewing for the week of June 28th to July 4th, and both NBC and Netflix have reconsidered their stance on the show and are in negotiations for a fourth season. In the Top 10 for streaming originals, Disney+’s Loki remained at Number 1 for a third week in a row with 813 million minutes of viewing. In the Top 10 for movies, Amazon’s The Tomorrow War claimed the top spot during its debut week with 1.2 billion minutes of viewing. And part one of Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy bowed at Number 6 with 248 million minutes of viewing. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy entries on the streaming charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Digital Ratings for the Week of Jun-28 to Jul-4
Streaming Originals
1 (1) Loki (Disney+) 813 Million
3 (2) Lucifer (Netflix) 450 Million
6 (5) Sweet Tooth (Netflix) 256 Million
9 (7) The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) 209 Million
Acqiured Shows
1 (1) Manifest (Netflix) 1.9 Billion
8 (8) Supernatural (Netflix) 328 Million
Movies
1 (n/a) The Tomorrow War (Amazon) 1.2 Billion
6 (n/a) Fear Street Part One: 1994 (Amazon) 248 Million
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Ratings Results of Interest
Freeform’s Motherland Fort Salem slipped in the ratings for the fifth episode of its second season, posting a 0.04 score base on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic and 136K total viewers. I have moved that one to Bubble status, but I still believe it has a chance of returning for a third year if fans rally to support it. Over on The CW, The Outpost improved slightly from its Season 4 premiere the prior week, posting a 0.06 rating with 446K total viewers. That network typically wraps up its low-rated shows around their fourth year, but this one is an acquisition that fills up a slot on the schedule in the Summer months and could still continue for another season.
Sci Fi TV Development
A sequel to the 1995 feature film Waterworld is currently in the works at Universal Content Productions. That is planned as a continuation of the original movie that will pick up twenty years later focusing on the same characters from a post-apocalyptic Earth mostly covered with water. Kevin Costner starred in the original film which was considered a Box Office flop but has since attained some cult status. There is no word on whether he will reprise his role or if the other actors from the film will return. No network is attached at this point, but UCP is owned by NBCUniversal and Peacock is a likely landing spot.
HBO has given a pilot script order for Fledgling, based on the book of the same name by Octavia Butler. Lovecraft Country‘s Sonya Winton-Odamtten and Jonathan I. Kidd are writing with Issa Rae and J.J. Abrams attached as executive producers. Variety gives the following description for the project:
Fledgling is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly inhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted – and still wants – to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself.
The premium cable network will be considering adding this one to its 2022 slate.
Sci Fi TV News of Note
Another transformation is on the way for The Doctor as Jodie Whittaker will be leaving Doctor Who in 2022. The thirteenth season of that show is set to debut later this year, and Whittaker’s departure will take place following three specials that have been ordered for 2022. Showrunner Chris Chibnall will also be departing at that point . . . The upcoming Disney+ MCU series Hawkeye has been given a Fall 2021 premiere data of November 24th. That show will find Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton training Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop to take over as Hawkeye . . . Delroy Lindo has been cast in the role of Mr. Nancy in Amazon’s upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. That role was played for Orlando Jones in the Starz series American Gods, though the two stories are not conisdered to be connected . . . EPIX has the sci fi horror series From currently in the works. According to Deadline, that show will follow “the mystery of a nightmarish town in Middle America that traps all those who enter”. Shaun Majumder, Avery Konrad, Hannah Cheramy, and Simon Webster are among those who have been cast in the series. Be sure to follow r/SciFiTV for news, schedule updates, trailers, discussions, and more.
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.
