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
Sci Fi TV Development:
There have been rumors for quite a while of a Quantum Leap reboot/revival with both creator Donald P. Bellisario and star Scott Bakula supporting a return to the time travel series, and now NBC has officially ordered a pilot for a revival. Variety gives the following description of the project:
In the new iteration, it’s been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it.
Bellisario will be back as executive producer and La Brea‘s Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt will write the pilot and executive produce. Sadly, original series co-star Dean Stockwell passed away late last year, and it is unclear at this point if Bakula would be a regular or recurring character on the new show. NBC will be considering adding the revival to its 2022-23 lineup. And in additional sci fi TV development news, The CW is working on a new Arrow-verse show to be titled Justice U and it will star David Ramsey who played John Diggle in Arrow. Variety gives the following description:
After spending years fighting alongside masked heroes, Diggle (Ramsey) embarks on a new mission to recruit five young meta humans to live undercover as freshmen at a prestigious university. There he will oversee their education and train them to become the heroes of tomorrow. The show is based on characters from the DC pantheon.
Ramsey will also be directing the pilot. The CW will be considering this one for its Fall 2022 schedule, though the potential sale of the network could impact whether it moves forward.
Ratings Results of Interest:
The latest Arrow-verse entry Naomi had its premiere on The CW on Tuesday, and that pulled a 0.14 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 802K total viewers. Those are decent numbers for that network, but I would not call this one a breakout hit at this point. And with the potential sale of the network, the freshman show will have to carry its weight if it wants to stick around under new ownership. Leading into the Naomi premiere, Superman & Lois returned for its second season and posted a 0.23 rating with 1.1 million total viewers. That remains the highest-rated of the Arrow-verse shows and it should continue into a third season unless new ownership results in major shakeups at the network. I will cover the full ratings for the week in the Tuesday Sci Fi TV Update post.
Nielsen Streaming Top 10:
The Witcher was the first of four genre entries topping the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 for Originals for the week of December 13th to 19th. The fantasy series had its Season 2 debut that week and pulled in an impressive 2.2 billion minutes of viewing according to Nielsen estimates. It has already been renewed for a third season and has multiple spin-offs on the way. At the Number 2 slot, Disney+’s Hawkeye held steady in its fifth week with 580 million minutes of viewing. There is no word yet on a second season, but an Echo spin-off is in the works. Netflix’s Lost in Space slipped to Number 3 with 569 million minutes of viewing, but that show’s final season continues to perform well for the streamer. And Amazon’s The Wheel of Time was at Number 4 with 467 million minutes of viewing. It has been renewed for a second season. The final season of Amazon’s The Expanse was in its second week of release, but did not make it into the Top 10 once again. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy TV shows on the streaming charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Nieslen Streaming Rankings for the Week of Dec-13 to Dec-19
Streaming Originals
1 (n/a) The Witcher (Netflix) 2.2 Million Minutes
2 (2) Hawkeye (Disney+) 580 Million Minutes
3 (1) Lost in Space (Netflix) 569 Billion Minutes
4 (3) The Wheel of Time (Amazon) 467 Million Minutes
Acquired Shows
6 (6) Supernatural (Netflix) 353 Million Minutes
Source: Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and Apple TV+), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing Through Television
Netflix Streaming Top 10:
The Silent Sea slipped in the Netflix Top 10 for Non-English language shows for the week of January 3rd to 9th, landing at the Number 5 slot with 19.7 million hours of viewing after topping the chart last week. There has been no word on a second season of that one yet, but consider it a good possibility. The Witcher continues to perform well for the streamer with Season 2 placing at Number 3 with 57.3 milion hours of viewing and Season 1 at Number 6 with 28.5 million hours viewed. Manifest Season 1 made a return to the charts at Number 30.2 million hours viewed. The fourth season of that show will be streaming on Netflix later this year. DOTA: Dragon’s Blood Book 2 had its premiere that week but did not place in the Top 10. Following are all the sci fi and fantasy TV shows on the Netflix charts for the week (the number in parenthesis is the prior week rank):
Netflix Top 10 for the Week of Jan-3 to Jan-9
English Language Shows
3 (2) The Witcher: Season 2 57.3 Million Hours
5 (n/a) Manifest: Season 1 30.2 Million Hours
6 (4) The Witcher: Season 1 28.5 Million Hours
Non-English Language Shows
5 (1) The Silent Sea: Season 1 19.7 Million Hours
Source: Netflix
Sci Fi TV Schedule:
The second season of Netflix’s sci fi work-place comedy Space Force is on the schedule after delays due to pandemic-related shutdowns. The show is set to have its Season 2 premiere on February 18th. HBO Max has announced February 3rd as the premiere date for Raised by Wolves Season 2 and has releasted a trailer. This coming week brings only one premiere as the Apple TV+ supernatural drama Servant returns for its third season on Friday. Also next week, The CW’s 4400 returns from hiatus on Monday. There are more sci fi TV shows on the way this Mid-Season and you can see the full schedule at this link.
Follow our Sci Fi TV Update posts each week for the status of the current sci fi and fantasy shows, the latest news, schedule info, 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.
