It has been a slow week news-wise due to the holiday, so I will take this opportunity to check in on the sci fi and fantasy television shows impacted by the strike.  Two weeks ago I reported in this column that Apple TV+ decided to cancel plans for Sam Esmail’s Metropolis series due to the strike, though that one will be shopped around.  Paramount+ has cancelled Star Trek: Prodigy and pulled it from streaming, and while the strike was not directly blamed for that decision, other streamers/networks could choose to follow the write-down path if they want to back out of any existing agreements while the labor movement is in progress.

NBC gave its two sci fi entries from last season an early renewal to get a jump on production with the strike looming.  Quantum Leap is currently on the Fall schedule, though it seems unlikely that they completed more than about a half dozen episodes before production shutdown.  My concern on that one is that if ratings are low when it returns, they may cancel the show and not allow it to complete the season.  La Brea is set for a mid-year return and I assume the third season will go forward no matter what because that will be the wrap for the show.

CBS has Ghosts on the Fall schedule, and since that one got an early renewal in January, it may have been able to complete half a season’s worth of episodes before production shut down.  ABC and FOX have no sci fi shows on their schedules at this point, and The CW’s Superman & Lois will not be back for its fourth year until 2024 because the renewal announcement only came last month.

AMC’s TWD entries all appear to be moving forward with Daryl Dixon and the second half of Fear the Walking Dead Season 8 arriving at some point in Fall.  The Rick and Michonne mini-series also appears to on track for a 2024 premiere.  That network’s supernatural dramas Interview with a Vampire and Mayfair Witches also appear to be unaffected by the strike at this point and their second season premieres should be mostly on schedule.

Several other returning shows will be impacted by the strike, either because they did not get any or enough scripts written, the strikers have targeted their production sites, or the creators/showrunners refuse to go forward while the strike is in progress.  Shows in the latter category, like Prime Video’s Good Omens, could face cancellation as a punitive effort from the network.  And shows that might have started production with scripts could face a work stoppage if rewrites are needed. House of the Dragon Season 2, which did move into production, could be impacted by this.

Among the shows that are currently held up are American Horror Story Season 12 (FX), Andor Season 2 (Disney+), Evil Season 4, The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6 (Hulu), The Last of Us Season 2 (Max), The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 (Prime Video), The Mandalorian Season 4 (Disney+), Severance Season 2 (Apple TV+), and Stranger Things Season 5 (Netflix).  TVInsider.com has a fairly comprehensive list of shows impacted at this link.

Production on several new shows has been halted, and there is always the concern that their network will go the same route as Apple TV+ did with Metropolis and just cancel the project.  Among the new entries held up in production are Blade (Disney+), Blade Runner 2099 (Prime Video), Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+), A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight (Max), The Penguin (Max), and Wonder Man (Disney+).  I like the Daredevil revival’s chances best at this point, but any or all of these could get nixed if production stoppage continues.

The writers’ strike is now in its third month and it does not appear that the sides are approaching any sort of a resolution.  To make matters worse, an actors’ strike is looming which could completely shut down the entertainment industry.  The good news for sci fi and fantasy fans is that even if we go months with no new premieres, there are so many scripted originals in the genre out there that you will still find plenty to watch.  But it would certainly be nice if these labor issues would get worked out (what the writers are asking for is not at all unreasonable) so that we could get back to a normal production schedule. Be sure to keep an eye on this site and CancelledSciFi.com for updates on the progress of the strike and the status of your favorite shows in the coming weeks.

Next week brings the premiere of Foundation Season 2 on Apple TV+ on Friday.  Also next week, FX’s supernatural comedy What We Do in the Shadows returns with its fifth season on Thursday.  You can see all of the premieres for July and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Checking in on the Genre Shows Impacted by the Writers’ Strike appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

The cost-cutting measures continue under the Paramount umbrella as the plans for a Gattaca television series at Showtime have been nixed. That premium cable service is rolling into Paramount+ on the streaming side and other cancellations have occurred during the consolidation including Star Trek: Prodigy (more on that in last week’s post). Deadline gives the following description of the project:

The series, takes place a generation after the events of the film, when science and humanity have evolved to the point where we can direct our own evolution. Genetic engineering has created a world in which parents can determine the future of their children before they are born (the Valids), which by default has created a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of one’s skin (the Invalids).

Set in the near future where corporations screen their employees based on their genetic makeup, the series centers on a man with a congenital heart condition who tries to assume the identity of a former athlete with perfect genes in order to fulfill his dream of traveling in space.

It comes from Homeland co-creators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, and the word is that the project will get shopped around to other venues.

Warrior Nun‘s creator Simon Barry announced this week that the show has been saved, and that has been confirmed by other sources.  It will return for a movie or a shortened third season to give it the chance to wrap up its storylines.  It will not be returning to Netflix, though, and the new venue has not been announced yet.  But this is yet another example of fans stepping up to save a show cancelled too soon and offers hope to those trying to save other genre entries like Raised by Wolves, Lockwood & Co., The Winchesters, and more.

The master of disaster is back and he will be kicking off a new sci fi franchise. Roland Emmerich is best known for end-of-the-world epics like Independence Day, 2012, and the recent Moonfall, but now he is turning his attention to more straightforward sci fi. He is teaming up with the World of Warcraft people to start up a new property named Space Nation which will launch as an MMORPG and then a television series and animated shorts will follow. The specifics of the story have not been revealed yet other than it will be a space opera, likely on a pretty grand scale considering that Emmerich usually goes big with his productions. The online game is targeting August 2023 for an Alpha Test and will then get an official release in 2024. The television series will follow sometime after that. No network or streamer is attached at this point, but the property should draw considerable interest.

In renewal news, MGM+ has officially given the greenlight to a third season of its sci fi/horror series From.  If you follow this site and CancelledSciFi.com, you already knew that, though, because we passed on the news that Production Weekly showed that the third year of the show in production in early May.  The writers’ strike started up right about then, though, so there will likely be a delay on this one returning to the air.

In the streaming ratings, Netflix’s Black Mirror moved to Number 1 in that streamer’s chart the week after its Season 6 premiere.  It had 60 million hours viewed across 11.6 million accounts.  There has been no word on a seventh season yet, but I consider it a strong candidate for renewal.  You can keep up with the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

In schedule announcements, the second season of Apple TV+’s Invasion has received an August 23rd premiere date.  Next week will bring no premieres for sci fi and fantasy shows, but things should ramp up later in the month. You can see all of the premieres for July and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Gattaca Series Will Not Go Forward at Showtime, Roland Emmerich Is Working on a Space Opera Series, and More appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

Star Trek: Prodigy has been cancelled by Paramount+ and will be removed from streaming as the dreaded write-downs rear their ugly head again.  We saw a similar thing happen at Max with Westworld and The Nevers and at AMC with Pantheon and Moonhaven, and now it has made its way to Paramount’s streaming service (three other non-genre shows were among the cancellations and write-downs by Paramount+).  Prodigy had already been renewed for a second season which was in the works, and word is that will be completed and the show will be shopped around to other venues.  The younger-skewing series previously aired on Nickelodeon after streaming and it is possible that it could land there.

This news comes as Paramount+ is in the process of merging with Showtime, but some analysts believe that the streaming service should be shut down.  The high spending for originals is catching up to the company (as well as many other streaming services), and Paramount+ may not be viable much longer which puts the future of the Star Trek franchise on television in doubt.    Netflix was one of the companies that has showed an interest in acquiring Paramount and/or its streaming service (the thought of Netflix in charge of the Trek franchise is chilling, though), but has not made any official move in that direction.  At this point, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is still on track for a third season, Star Trek: Lower Decks will be returning for a fourth season and has been renewed for a fifth, Star Trek: Discovery has a fifth and final season on the way, and new series Starfleet Academy is in the works.  Beyond that, the future of the Trek franchise is unclear with Paramount going through its current struggles.

Falling victim to the writers’ strike, the Metropolis series that was in the works at Apple TV+ will not be going forward.  Mr. Robot‘s Sam Esmail was helming that project, but production has been shut down with a studio rep blaming “uncertainty related to the ongoing strike”.  Whether it will still happen once the strike ends or possibly get shopped around to other venues is unclear.  It was a high-dollar production, so it is possible that the streaming service shied away from it due to the costs.  But Esmail had already written the eight-episode first season and has been working the series for years, so he will likely try to find it a new home.

In renewal news, Genndy Tartakovsky’s animated series Primal has received a third season nod from Adult Swim.  That show wrapped up its second season in Fall 2022 and there had been no word on its fate.  But the show has now officially been renewed and will move in a new direction based on the way the second season wrapped up.  You can keep up with the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

The fourth season of the animated Harley Quinn series has received a premiere date of July 27th on Max.  Next week brings the Season 3 premiere of The Witcher on Netflix.  The first half of the season will drop on Thursday with the second half held until late July.  You can see all of the premieres for June and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Star Trek Prodigy Cancelled as Changes Could Be Coming to Paramount+ appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

The animated Babylon 5 movie that J. Michael Straczynski has been teasing for the past month or so now has a release date and a synopsis. The film will be titled Babylon 5: The Road Home and it will be released direct-to-video, available VOD, 4K UHD, and Blu-ray on August 15th. Following is the synopsis:

Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.

A trailer was also released this week and you can see that at this link. With the live-action reboot of the franchise likely not going forward, it will be interesting to see if more animated B5 movies taking place in the original universe could follow should The Road Home prove successful.

As I previously predicted, it is looking like some streaming originals could make the jump to the linear broadcast networks this Fall. With the writers’ strike still going on, there will be little in the way of scripted programming available once the Fall 2023 season begins, and CBS boss George Cheeks has already indicated that they are looking to fill in gaps with Paramount+ shows. The network previously did that during the COVID-impacted Fall 2020 season by airing an encore run of the first season of Star Trek: Discovery. They could air the second season this coming Fall or perhaps the first season of Strange New Worlds or Picard. And I expect other networks could draw from their digital partners as well going forward (ABC from Disney+/Hulu, NBC from Peacock, and The CW from Paramount+ or Max). This also may be the future of scripted programming on the linear channels with shows first launching on the streaming services and getting encore runs over the air at a later date.

Superman has fought many villains over the years including some of the most powerful in the universe and survived the likes Darkseid, Doomsday, and Brainiac, but he is powerless to defeat the network budget monster as The CW’s Superman & Lois will be experiencing huge cuts in the upcoming fourth season. The renewal was announced earlier this week with the caveat that the show would only have ten episodes and that it would trim back its cast. It has since been announced that seven series regulars will be cut leaving only the four principles in the main cast as well as the new addition of Michael Cudlitz’s Lex Luthor. Dylan Walsh, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Erik Valdez, and more will be dropped as regulars, though they may still have recurring roles. The early word is that the show will move more to a focus on family stories, though obviously Lex Luthor will factor in as well.

With the renewal of Superman & Lois came the announcement that freshman series Gotham Knights will not be continuing to a second season. There apparently was an attempt to shop that series around, starting before the cancellation, but showrunners James Stoteraux and Chad Fiveash have indicated that the studio was not able to find it a home.  Of course, you have to wonder how hard the studio tried because there is no reason that Max could not have picked this one up, especially after the show got off to a good start in its broadcast run.  You also have to wonder why The CW didn’t pick this one up and let Superman & Lois go over to Max.  Gotham Knights is less expensive to produce and more in the budget range of a CW show, whereas S&L is getting gutted in its upcoming fourth season on that network.  But then who are to question the decisions of the all-wise and all-knowing network execs and studio heads?

In renewal news, Apple TV+ has officially given the greenlight to a second season of its new sci fi drama Silo.  Production of the second season had already been announced by Production Weekly, but the streamer has now confirmed that will be going forward.  Also, the adult-animated Scooby Doo spin-off Velma will be continuing to a second season on Max.  That show was not well-received in its first year, currently holding only a 40% Tomatometer rating and a 7% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.  And yet the streamer is still moving forward with a second season while failing to pick up fan-favorite, WB-owned shows like Gotham Knights and The Winchesters.

In the streaming ratings, the final season of Manifest moved to Number 1 in the Netflix Top 10 for the week of June 5th to 11th.  That was the week after the release of the show’s final ten episodes and the fourth season pulled in 78 million hours of viewing.  That one is coming to an end, but series star Josh Dallas has suggested that a sequel series could happen.  You can keep up with the viewership numbers and the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

Next week brings the premiere of the Secret Invasion mini-series on Disney+ which sees Samuel L. Jackson return as Nick Fury.  The first episode will be available for streaming on Wednesday.  Also next week, the Skull Island animated series will premiere on Netflix.  You can see all of the premieres for June and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Babylon 5 Animated Movie Gets an Update, Superman & Lois Fight the Budget Monster, and More appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

Before I get into this week’s news, just a note that I will be traveling next week so the Sci Fi TV Week in Review post will likely not go up on Saturday as usual.  But I will catch up on any notable news the following week.

Warner Bros. Discovery has been shopping around its Supernatural spin-off The Winchesters since it was cancelled by The CW, but they have not been able to find a venue interested in picking it up. According to Deadline, “all possible avenues have been exhausted, and the search for a new home has come to an end”. But that is basically just corporate-speak for giving up. The show performed well in the ratings and the Supernatural franchise has e a huge following. The Winchesters has strong support from fans as evidenced by the show placing in the Top 5 in our season-end poll. And Warner Bros. Discovery owns Max (previously HBO Max), so they could have shifted the show to that venue if they really wanted. But this just proves that these companies look at television shows as completely dispensable and that they are not willing to put in too much effort to support them despite the millions they sink into the productions. I expect that fans of The Winchesters will continue to stump for the show, but the chances of a second season happening now that its studio has given up on it are slim.

Lockwood & Co. and Warrior Nun are two other shows that topped our season-end poll as fans have been working hard to save both of them.  But fans of a cancelled sci fi entry from last season are still fighting for their show and just recently brought it some attention in the streets of New York City.  Raised by Wolves was cancelled by HBO Max when that streamer went through some cost-cutting last year, but fans want a proper conclusion and have been campaigning for another venue to pick it up for a third season.  They followed the lead of Warrior Nun fans and paid for a billboard in Times Square:

#RenewRaisedByWolves ON SCREEN IN TIMES SQUARE!!!
Make NOISE for Raised by Wolves, this unique masterpiece must continue! Pls retweet and reply with our hashtag.@primevideo @peacock @appletv @starz @showtime @paramountplus @hulu @amcplus @netflix @JSalke @thomasryan @2Earley pic.twitter.com/gdKAlmwG1l

— Save Raised By Wolves Official (@saveRBWofficial) May 18, 2023

There has been no word at this point on another venue taking interest in the show, but the continued fan efforts will bring it plenty of attention and could generate some energy around reviving it. You can follow the campaign at the Official Save Raised by Wolves Twitter Site.  And fans of The Winchesters should take note and maybe start working on their own billboard.

The lost-plane series Manifest released the second half of its fourth season yesterday, which will act as a wrap-up for the show, but series creator Jeff Rake originally had a six-season plan for that one and series star Josh Dallas has suggested a possible sequel. NBC cancelled the show after its third season, but Netflix picked it up after a raucous fan campaign and after encore runs on the streaming service spent 18 straight weeks in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings (eleven at Number 1). The streamer only greenlighted one additional season of twenty episodes, though, which was short of what Rake had originally planned for the series. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dallas suggested that a sequel or spin-off series could carry the story on:

I think there’s major sequel or spinoff potential here. Maybe we go into the future and see Eden [his character’s daughter] at 21 or so as she’s navigating the world, or we follow the younger passengers. Maybe we go back to 2013 and deep dive into the investigation with [NSA director] Vance.

The first half of the fourth season continued to pull strong viewership for Netflix, so the streamer may be interested in continuing the franchise at some point, especially if the final ten episodes perform well (which they most likely will). But with the writers’ strike in full force, it will be a while before anything new happens with this property.

And speaking of the strike, two genre shows have wrapped up filming and should be able to proceed without any delays from that labor demonstration.  The long-awaited TWD: Rick & Michonne spin-off has completed its filming and should be on target for its planned 2024 debut.  And the WandaVision spin-off series Agatha: Agent of Chaos has also concluded filming and should be premiering in 2024 as well.  It is possible that one or both of these could run into a snag if reshoots are needed because those likely will not be able to proceed during the strike.  But beyond that, they should be moving forward to their planned premieres (specific dates have not been set, though).

If vampires and romantic comedies are your thing, then you may want to check out the Korean series Heartbeat which stars singer/actor Ok Taec-yeon along with Won Ji-an.  Deadline gives the following description of the production:

[Ok Taec-yeon] plays a vampire who sleeps in a coffin for 100 years in the hope of experiencing true love, but is awakened one day early by a cold-blooded-yet-mesmerizing woman (Won), who has no time for romance.

It will start streaming on Prime Video on June 26th.

Next week brings no premieres for sci fi and fantasy shows, but the following week will see four notable entries hitting the schedule.  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be back for its second season on Paramount+, the sixth season of Black Mirror will drop on Netflix, The Walking Dead: Dead City has its bow on AMC, and Outlander will be back on Starz with its seventh season.  You can see all of the premieres for June and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Warner Bros Gives Up on The Winchesters, Manifest Star Suggests Sequel Series, and More appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

It has been a slow week for sci fi TV news, so I will use this opportunity to take a look at the genre entries on the Fall 2023 schedule for the linear networks. And spoiler alert; there are not many shows on the sched. All of the broadcast networks have announced their Fall lineup with the exception of FOX, and as you might expect, it is heavy on reality and competition shows.  With the writers’ strike currently going on (more on that at this link), production has halted on many of the scripted shows that would have made up the Fall schedule, so the networks have to pad out the lineup.  But the fact is that the linear nets will likely be leaning more and more on non-scripted programming going forward anyway because it is cheaper for them to go that direction as their viewership continues to decline.

The only two genre entries currently set for Fall on the broadcast networks are NBC’s Quantum Leap and the CBS supernatural comedy Ghosts.  The former got an early renewal announcement and started work on its second season before the strike began, but it may have only completed a handful of episodes before production halted.  And the network did that one no favors by moving it to Tuesdays at 10 PM EST.  As for Ghosts, it is unclear if that show started work on its third season before the strike, so it’s possible it could get shifted to mid-season.

Syfy has not announced its Fall schedule yet, but Chucky was supposed to be returning for its third season and Reginald the Vampire should be back for its second season.  If work was completed on those before the strike, they should still be on track for a Fall premiere.  Resident Alien should be back for its third season at some point, but that may arrive sooner in Summer.

AMC’s TWD spin-off series Daryl Dixon was scheduled to hit somewhere around Fall and that one is likely still on track.  The second season of Interview with the Vampire was eying a Fall premiere and should still be on target if it got enough filming completed before the strike.  And FX’s American Horror Story Season 12 could still be on track for Fall, though don’t be surprised if either that or Interview only have half a season’s worth of episodes available. The fourth and final season of Snowpiercer was in the works and it is possible that could arrive in Fall if not sooner (though a network has not been established since it was booted from TNT).

The CW cancelled The Winchesters and Kung Fu, and Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights are still awaiting word on their fates.  It is looking like the former could fly over to Max (previously HBO Max) with the latter getting a second season at The CW.  But since production has not started on either, it will almost certainly be 2024 before we see either of those.

The third season of NBC’s La Brea has been pushed to mid-year which suggests filming was not completed before the strike.  Only six episodes were ordered for that, and it will likely be the final season for the show.

Apart from that, there is little else to look forward to on the linear channels this Fall.  None of the broadcast networks ordered genre pilots, and neither FOX nor ABC have anything to carry over from the current season.  (FOX cancelled Fantasy Island after two seasons.)  And I expect this to be pretty much the norm from these networks going forward.  Non-scripted programming will likely continue to dominate, even after the strike.  And I also expect the linear networks will start airing encore runs of originals from digital networks they are linked to like CBS did with Star Trek: Discovery a couple of years ago to fill out the schedule.  Good or bad, streaming is where you will find most of the genre shows these days, especially if you are looking for true science fiction shows.

Below is the list of shows expected to be airing on the linear networks in Fall 2023:

AMC

Daryl Dixon (Sundays 9 PM EST)
Interview with the Vampire Season 2 (Sundays 9 PM EST, Tentative)

CBS

Ghosts Season 3 (Thursdays 8:30 PM EST)

FX

American Horror Story Season 12 (Wednesdays 10 PM EST)

NBC

Quantum Leap Season 2 (Tuesdays 10 PM EST)

Syfy

Chucky Season 3 (Wednesdays 9 PM EST, Tentative)
Reginald the Vampire Season 2 (Wednesdays 10 PM EST, Tentative)
Resident Alien Season 3 (Timeslot TBA)

TBA

Snowpiercer Season 4 (Timeslot and Network TBA)

This coming week, Nancy Drew returns on Wednesday to kick off its fourth and final season, and that will be the last genre premier for the month. To kick off June, Manifest Season 4B premieres on Netflix on Friday and The Lazarus Project premieres on TNT on Sunday.  You can see all of the premieres for June and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: A Look at Sci Fi TV on the Fall 2023 Schedule for the Linear Networks appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

The fan-favorite series The Librarians–which was a spin-off from The Librarian films–was cancelled by TNT back in 2018 causing the show to end without any resolution. But now there may be a chance to revisit some unfinished storylines as a sequel series is in the works at The CW. Deadline gives the following description of the project:

The Librarians: The Next Chapter is a spinoff of the original TV series The Librarians, which followed the adventures of the custodians of a magical repository of the world’s most powerful and dangerous supernatural artifacts. The new series centers on a “Librarian” from the past, who time traveled to the present and now finds himself stuck here. When he returns to his castle, which is now a museum, he inadvertently releases magic across the continent.

Dean Devlin, who created the original series, will be onboard as showrunner and executive producer, but there is no word at this point if any of the actors from the 2014 series will be reprising their roles. The show will likely not make it to the schedule until mid-season at best seeing as production cannot start until that pesky writers’ strike is resolved.

And while that series did get the greenlight, several projects that had been in development at the network will not be going forward.  The live-action reboot of The Power Puff Girls had already been passed over by the prior regime once, but it was held over for possible future development until the new owners decided to pass as well.  And the slight chance that the Arrow-verse could continue with the John Diggle-led Justice U has ended as they have passed on that one as well.  There is no word at this point on the Babylon 5 reboot that was in the works, but it seems unlikely that will happen at The CW as it does not fit into the network’s low-cost, older-skewing model for programming.

Most of the broadcast networks have unveiled their Fall 2023 schedules (only FOX is holding out at this point), but there is very little of interest to sci fi and fantasy fans.  Quantum Leap will be back for a second season on NBC, but it is unclear how many episodes were completed before the writers’ strike halted production.  The supernatural comedy Ghosts is scheduled to be back on CBS, but it could be subjected to delay due to the strike.  And that is pretty much it at the moment (FOX did not have any genre entries in development, so nothing is expected when it announces its schedule).  The third (and likely last) season of NBC’s La Brea and the second season of ABC’s Not Dead Yet have been pushed to mid-season, and The CW’s The Librarians: The Next Chapter is likely a mid-season entry as well.  Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights are still awaiting word on their fates, but if one or both are picked up, they won’t be ready before mid-season.  This continues a trend of less and less sci fi and fantasy on the linear networks, and I expect that to be business as usual going forward.

Disney+ and Hulu will be going through a purge of their catalog for alleged “cost-cutting” reasons, and as usual several genre entries will be impacted.  Among the shows that will be pulled as of May 26th are Willow, Y: The Last Man, Little Demon, and The Mysterious Benedict Society. These will likely get moved to one of the FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) channel spaces at some point, but nothing has been confirmed on that.  This is a disturbing trend among the streaming services as sometimes the FAST channels only have the shows available for live-streaming as is the case with HBO’s abandoned The Nevers.  But hopefully, these will eventually be made available VOD or on DVD/Blu-ray so that they are at least somewhat accessible.

And speaking of shows that are not available, Disney apparently has a ten-episode Alien vs. Predator anime series sitting in its vault with no plans to release it.  It was produced prior to when the Mouse House bought 20th Century Fox and it was intended as a direct-to-DVD release.  But nothing has been done with it and there are no current plans for a release.  Perhaps it could see the light of day at some point, but these companies seem to be burying stuff more often these days, so who knows?

In the streaming ratings, the Apple TV+ sci fi series Silo debuted as the number one drama in the history of that streamer according to Deadline.  The numbers from the Nielsen Streaming Rankings are not available yet, but the early viewership has been strong and has apparently increased in subsequent weeks.  A second season of that show is already in the works. You can keep up with the viewership numbers and the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

In scheduling news, several premiere dates for genre shows were announced this past week.  Hulu’s highly-anticipated revival of Futurama (which brings back the original cast) will premiere on July 24th.  The first ten episodes of the eighth season will start streaming on that date with the second half of the season held for a later release.  There were rumors that the second season of Disney+’s Loki would not arrive until 2024, but that show has now received a release date of October 6th.  And the Hawkeye spin-off series Echo will have its premiere on November 29th.  In a change of pace for that streamer, all episodes will be available on the premiere dates.  You can see the premieres for May and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Sequel Series for The Librarians Is in the Works, the Fall 2023 Schedule Has Few Genre Entries, and More appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

Four sci fi/fantasy shows were cancelled this past week and it is very likely that more could get the ax this weekend as the networks and streamers are cleaning house. Next week brings the Upfronts when the broadcast networks unveil their schedules to the sponsors, and that includes several of the streaming services they partner with as well as Netflix. So these venues all want to shore up their lineups and cast off the shows that will not be carrying over. Among the genre entries that fell this week were Fantasy Island (cancelled by FOX after two seasons), Lockwood & Co. (cancelled by Netflix after one season), The Winchesters (cancelled by The CW after one season), and Kung Fu (cancelled by The CW after three seasons). Still on the chopping block are Superman & Lois (CW), Gotham Knights (CW), Not Dead Yet (ABC), She-Hulk (Disney+), Tales of the Walking Dead (AMC), and more. You can read about all the shows waiting for word on their fate at this link, and be sure to follow CancelledSciFi.com over the next few days for breaking news and updates. Next week I will be putting up the early schedule for Fall 2023, but (Spoiler Alert) there will not be many sci fi shows on the linear channels.

In early Fall schedule announcements, NBC will be shifting Quantum Leap to Tuesdays at 10 PM EST. It will still have a lead-in from The Voice, but that has been a tough hour for all of the broadcast networks and it is not a good landing spot for the show. La Brea has been pushed to mid-season for its third (and likely last) season.

Last week, J. Michael Straczynski announced that an animated Babylon 5 movie is on the way that would take place in the original universe of the series (and that is not related to the possible reboot). This week, some more details about the movie were unveiled including the synopsis:

Travel across the galaxy with John Sheridan as he unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities in a quest to find his way back home. Along the way he reunites with some familiar faces, while discovering cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose, and meaning of the Universe.

Original cast members Bruce Boxleitner, Claudia Christian, Peter Jurasik, Bill Mumy, Tracy Scoggins, Patricia Tallman, and Paul Guyet will be returning to voice the characters they played in the live-action series. New voice cast members include Anthony Hansen as Michael Garibaldi, Phil LaMarr as Dr. Stephen Franklin, Andrew Morgado as G’Kar, and Rebecca Riedy as Delenn. Paul Guyet will also provide the voice for Jeffery Sinclair. Sadly, the actors who originally played the last group of characters have all passed away. The movie will be released this Summer, and according to a tweet from JMS, the final update including the trailer and where the film will be available will come in mid-June.

In the streaming ratings, Netflix’s Sweet Tooth held at the Number 2 slot in that streamer’s Top 10 for the week of May 1st through 7th. It pulled in over sixty million hours of viewing and it has been renewed for a third and final season. You can keep up with the viewership numbers and the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

Next week brings no premieres of sci fi and fantasy shows and really not much in the way of new episodes. Mrs. Davis will have its season finale on Peacock on Thursday, and there are a few shows airing on the linear channels.  But options among genre shows are pretty slim at the moment, and it could be that way for a while with the writers’ strike still going on. You can see the premieres for May and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Four Shows Cancelled This Week (So Far), Babylon 5 Movie Gets an Update, and More appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

Babylon 5 fans may not be too thrilled about the potential reboot of the series in the works, but they have to be happy about the announcement made by J. Michael Straczynski this past week on Twitter.  An animated B5 movie is on the way, likely to be streaming on HBO Max (soon to be just Max):

BABYLON 5 ANIMATED MOVIE coming from Warner Bros. Animation & WB Home Entertainment! Classic B5: raucous, heartfelt, nonstop, a ton of fun through time and space & a love letter to the fans. Movie title, release date and other details coming one week from today. #B5AnimatedMovie pic.twitter.com/5ylImI65mm

— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) May 3, 2023

He went on to say that the film is “already finished and in the can” and it is “coming out very soon”.  This will take place in the universe of the original series and is not related to the reboot.  Further details on the movie will be released this coming week, so stay tuned for more info.  As for the reboot, there have been no updates so it is unclear where that stands.

The Writer’s Guild of America voted to go on strike this past week and that has brought production of film and television to a halt.  Any production needing completed scripts or rewrites will not be able to move forward while the strike is going on.  Shows like House of the Dragon Season 2 were already in production with completed scripts, but they could run into a stoppage if rewrites and revisions are required.  And if this turns into an extended strike like in 2007-08 (that ran for 100 days) it will definitely impact the start of the Fall 2023 season.  You can read more about the strike and how it will impact sci fi TV over at CancelledSciFi.com.

Netflix decided to announce a renewal for a change as it has given the third-season nod to its post-apocalyptic fantasy series Sweet Tooth, though that will be its final season.  The streamer apparently had already given the greenlight for production to start on the third year (likely to get ahead of the strike) as most of the filming has been completed.  The first season performed well in viewership and the second season (which debuted last week) started out at Number 2 in the streamer’s Top 10.  A three-year run with the third season announced in advance as the last used to be common at Netflix, but that streamer has been quick to pull the plug on its shows of late.  The third season of Sweet Tooth could see a quick turnaround and premiere in late 2023 or early 2024.

In casting news Sydney Chandler has been cast in one of the lead roles in the upcoming Alien series that is in the works at FX.  Not much is known about the series at this point, but creator Noah Hawley has revealed the following:

It’s the first story in the Alien franchise that takes place on Earth. It takes place on our planet, near the end of this century we’re currently in — 70-odd years from now.

The show has been on a long development oath since 2020, and the current writers’ strike will obviously slow things down further.

In the streaming ratings, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone held on for a fourth week in the Nielsen Top 10 for original shows, repeating at the Number 6 slot with an estimated 389 million minutes viewed.  That show already had a five-week run in the Netflix Top 10 and could be on track for a third-season renewal.  You can keep up with the viewership numbers and the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

Next week brings the premiere of the third and final season of Netflix’s animated Ultraman reboot on Thursday as well as the premiere of the Korean post-apocalyptic series Black Knights on Friday.  Then on Sunday the eighth and final season of Fear the Walking Dead has its two-hour premiere on Sunday.  Next week will also bring season finales for Fantasy Island (FOX, Monday), Ghosts (CBS, Thursday), Titans (HBO Max, Thursday), Citadel (Prime Video, Friday), and The Power (Prime Video, Friday).  You can see the premieres for May and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: New Babylon 5 Movie Is on the Way, Writers’ Strike Halts Television Production, and More appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.

Last week I covered several development announcements but missed one that did not get a lot of attention from the entertainment media.  Lionsgate TV is apparently in the early stages of development on a television series based on the Stephanie Meyers Twilight books.  It is unclear at this point if this would be a reboot like the Harry Potter series headed to HBO Max or if it would be a further exploration of the property like the Lord of the Rings series on Prime Video.  No network or streaming service is attached at this point, but there will certainly be plenty of interest as the name recognition for the franchise would certainly bring in a significant number of viewers/subscribers with it.

In other development news, an animated series is in the works based on the Vampire Survivors video game.  Following is the official description of that game:

There lived an evil person named Bisconte Draculó, whose many evil magics created a bad world filled with famine and suffering. It’s now up to the members of the Belpaese Family to end his reign of terror and return good food to the table.  There’s no place to hide -all you can do is try to survive a cursed night and get as much gold as possible for the next survivor- before Death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn!

This is a first-person shooter game where the player kills wave after waver of oncoming monsters, so it is unclear what the series itself would be about.  No writer or showrunner has been attached at this point nor has a network or streaming service been identified.  But the property should draw some interest.

For those waiting for the second season of the Apple TV+ corporate dystopia Severance, you will be waiting a while longer.  That show premiered in February 2022 to much acclaim, but apparently there was behind-the-scenes turmoil in the first season that has carried over to the second.  There has been friction between showrunners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman and Beau Willimon (House of Cards, Andor) has been brought in to help out.  Apparently, the streamer is considering a renewal for a third season and possibly beyond, but will need to get that second season completed first.  It is moving forward at least, and it will perhaps debut at some point in late Summer or in Fall.

The long-awaited sixth season of Black Mirror finally has a premiere window on Netflix and the guest cast has been announced.  Among the names on the list are Aaron Paul, Kate Mara, Michael Cera and Salma Hayek Pinault.  A teaser has been released, and the Season 6 premiere is set for a June release.

In ratings news, Gotham Knights rebounded from the season low it pulled in its last new episode two weeks ago to a 0.11 score based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 431K total viewers.  It remains one of the highest-rated shows on that network this Spring, though its status is uncertain due to the change of ownership at The CW.  If that network does not keep it going, there is a chance it could shift to HBO Max.  You can keep up with the viewership numbers and the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

Next week brings the second-season premiere of the animated Star Wars: Visions on Disney+ on Thursday.  And then on Friday, the dystopian series Silo will have its bow on Apple TV+.  The premieres will slow down after that with only three more on the schedule in May, but they will pick up again in Summer.  You can see all the premieres for May and beyond at this link and you can keep up with the current schedule at this link.

Be sure to keep up with the news during the week at r/SciFiTV.

SciFiTVSite.com: 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.

CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates on all the airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows for the current season with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.

The post Sci Fi TV Week in Review: A Twilight TV Series Is in the Works, Severance Runs Into Delays, and More appeared first on Sci Fi TV Site.