The Fall 2024 Television Schedule Does Not Have Much in the Way of Sci Fi and Fantasy Offerings

This past week was the Upfronts when the broadcast networks (and now some of the streaming services) announced the schedules for the upcoming 2024-25 seasons (while also securing advertising from the sponsors).  This used to be a pretty big event when the broadcasters had a more commanding spot in the television landscape, but with dwindling viewing for the old-school networks, the Upfronts have been rather anti-climatic the past few years.  And for fans of sci fi and fantasy, there is little of interest on the upcoming schedules for those channels.  In fact, scripted shows in general are getting less and less Prime Time real estate, and that is a trend I expect to continue.

Here is the rundown for each of the broadcast networks:

ABC:  This network sent its supernatural comedy Not Dead Yet to the grave after two seasons and it has no other sci fi/fantasy shows on the upcoming schedule as its owner Disney is keeping most of those on the Disney+ streaming service.  And out of nineteen hours available across the Prime Time week (not including Saturdays), only five and a half hours of scripted programming are currently planned for Fall 2024.  The rest is taken up by reality/competition shows and sports.  You can see the full Fall schedule for ABC at this link.

CBS:  This network is bringing back its hit supernatural comedy Ghosts for a fourth season, but no other genre entries will be joining it on the schedule.  Out of nineteen Prime Time hours available, the eye network will have the most scripted programming among the broadcast networks with fifteen hours.  You can see the full Fall schedule for CBS at this link.

FOX:  This network is bringing back its animated fantasy comedy Krapopolis for a second season, but it has nothing else to offer for genre fans.  Out of 13 hours available in the Prime Time Week (FOX does not program the 10 PM EST hour), six hours will be comprised of scripted programming.  You can see the full Fall schedule for FOX at this link.

NBC:  This network cancelled Quantum Leap this past season and La Brea wrapped up with its third and final year, with no new sci fi/fantasy shows on the upcoming schedule (though Brilliant Minds starring Zachary Quinto could potentially explore some genre themes).  Of the 19 Prime Time hours NBC will be programming, only ten and a half will be comprised of scripted programming. You can see the full Fall schedule for NBC at this link.

The CW:  Once the sanctuary of genre shows amongst the broadcast networks, The CW has cut back significantly on its sci fi TV offerings (and scripted programming in general) and has only two entries on the Fall schedule.  Superman & Lois will be returning for its truncated and budget-slashed final season (more on that at this link) and new series The Librarians: The Next Chapter will be joining the network’s lineup.  Beyond that, The CW will have only two more hours of scripted programming on the Fall schedule for a total of 4 out of a total 13 hours available in the week.  You can see the full Fall schedule for The CW at this link.

The shrinking of scripted programming on the schedule in favor of sports and reality shows is something I have predicted for a while, but I thought the networks would start doing more encore runs of originals from their streaming companions.  Similar to what CBS did a few years back when it ran Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 which likely hooked some viewers and got them to sign up for Paramount+.  We haven’t seen too much of that so far, but I would not be surprised if it becomes more prevalent in the coming seasons.

As for the cable channels, there is not much in the way of sci fi and fantasy shows on the Fall schedule there either as scripted programming continues to dwindle on those venues.  FX has the final season of What We Do in the Shadows on the way and it’s possible that Season 13 of American Horror Stories will hit the schedule in Fall as well (likely around Halloween).  Syfy’s Surrealestate could be back for its third season in Fall as could AMC’s Mayfair Witches and The Walking Dead: Dead City and Starz’s Outlander, though none of those have been confirmed.   Even more tentative is the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us which could get pushed to 2025.

On the streaming services, a handful of shows are targeting Fall premieres, though only one is confirmed at this point.  Disney+’s Wandavision spin-off Agatha All Along (previously titled House of Harkness, Darkhold Diaries, and Coven of Chaos) has received a premiere date of September 18th.  Also currently set for Fall premieres are Arcane (Netflix), Dune: Prophecy (Max), The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 (Prime Video), and Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 (Paramount+), though no dates have been set yet.  Other streaming originals could arrive in the Fall, but currently the slate is rather sparse.

In part, the lack of scripted programming is due to last year’s strikes, but the entertainment industry is also going through some changes as it appears the Peak TV era has peaked (more on that at this link).  I expect to see fewer scripted programs across the linear and digital viewing platforms, and particularly fewer of the mega-budget productions like 3 Body Problem (Netflix), Fallout (Prime Video), and The Last of Us (HBO).  It doesn’t mean that we won’t still have some good sci fi options, and Peak TV definitely dumped a glut of programming on us, so fewer shows might be better.  Just be sure to adjust expectations and not be searching for tons of new scripted programming because there will be less to choose from in the coming seasons.

Following is the Fall 2024 Schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows across the broadcast networks, cable channels, and streaming services.  This is very tentative at this point, so expect changes by the time that September rolls around.  And you can keep track of all the sci fi TV premieres at this link and the weekly schedule at this link.

Fall 2024 Schedule:

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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.