In a normal television year, the broadcast networks would be kicking off their seasons over the next couple of weeks with multiple shows premiering and returning. But his is anything but a normal television year. The status of quite a number of shows was impacted by the writers’ strike which started last Spring, and then the actors’ strike arrived in Summer throwing the schedule off even more. Only a handful of scripted shows will have their premieres on the broadcast nets this Fall, and once they air out the episodes they have completed, there will be very little to watch on the free airwaves. As for the cable channels and streaming services, they have some shows lined up for the next few months, but the offerings will get much sparser as we head into 2024.
As of this writing, there are thirty-one sci fi and fantasy shows set for the Fall 2023 season (which I count as having started with the August premieres), and that may sound to some like a hefty amount. But last year, there were fifty-three genre entries that hit the schedule from August to December, and that number was down from the prior year. Thirty-one is still a lot of scripted shows to watch over the next few months, but it is very possible that Peak TV peaked a couple of years ago and we will see the numbers continue to go down over the next few seasons.
Across the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC), there are currently only two genre entries set to premiere this Fall. NBC’s Quantum Leap returns for its second season in October and that one should have around ten episodes completed. Over on FOX, the animated fantasy comedy Krapopolis (from Rick & Morty‘s Dan Harmon) will have its long-delayed premiere and it should have at least thirteen episodes completed if not more considering how long it has been in production (its original premiere date was November 2022). NBC’s La Brea will be back at mid-season and ABC’s Not Dead Yet will return in Spring assuming the strikes don’t linger on too long. The CW once had multiple Arrow-verse shows as well as other genre entries debuting each Fall, but this year under new management it has only the German acquisition The Swarm on the schedule with Superman & Lois looking at a 2024 return.
Across the cable channels, AMC kicked off The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon last week and the final episodes of Fear the Walking Dead will start airing in October. It is also possible that part or all of the second season of Interview with the Vampire could air this Fall. FX has Season 12 of American Horror Story set for an October premiere, but only half of that season has been completed. Syfy has Chucky Season 3 and Surrealestate Season 2 premiering in October, and both of those may have been unscathed by the strikes. Adult Swim Has Season 7 of Rick & Morty arriving in October, though that might be shortened due to the production stoppages.
Across the streaming services, there are several new shows set for the Fall season. Kicking off last month was Strange Planet (Apple TV+), Ahsoka (Disney+), and One Piece (Netflix). September premieres include The Changeling (Apple TV+), Castlevania: Nocturne (Netflix), and Gen V (Amazon). October thru December will bring premieres for The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix), Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple TV+), Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix), Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Disney+), and more. Returning shows include Loki Season 2 (Disney+), Creepshow Season 4 (Shudder), Invincible Season 2 (Amazon), and For All Mankind Season 4 (Apple TV+). (You can see all the sci fi TV premieres for August and beyond at this link.)
At this point, there are not many shows premiering or returning in November or December (currently only five total), but I expect more will get added to the schedule in the coming month. Still, fewer scripted shows will be the trend for the end of this year and beyond as the production stoppage from the strikes really starts to take its toll. That may not necessarily be a bad thing as the Peak TV overload has brought us a glut of programming. But as I said above, I believe the growth in the number of scripted shows has finally crested and the schedule will become much leaner in 2024 and beyond. For more on that, check out my Peak TV Crunch posts.
You can see all of the Fall 2023 premieres at this link and you can keep up with the weekly schedule at this link. The options for sci fi and fantasy shows are certainly on the decline this year, but currently there are still quite a number of genre entries to pick from. How long that will continue, though, remains to be seen. Be sure to follow this site, particularly our Cancellation Watch Page, to keep up with the status of all the current and upcoming genre shows.
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
