Sci Fi TV Week in Review: Johnny Jay’s irreverent, snarky, and caffeine-fueled look back at the past week in sci fi TV in five minutes or less.
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.
