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.
In reboots that no one asked for, HBO Max is working on a television adaptation of the Harry Potter books. This will not be a continuation from the movies, but a complete reboot with a new cast, and each season will cover one of the books. The Harry Potter movies are part of a beloved franchise enjoyed by younger and older viewers alike since they first started in 2001, and it is unclear what a television reboot would bring to the property. Most likely this is just a cash grab on the part of Warner Bros. Discovery and an attempt to drive up subscriptions for the streaming service. J.K. Rowling will be involved and will certainly be getting a nice paycheck from this, but the television series seems likely to dilute the franchise.
And speaking of diluting franchises, yet another Game of Thrones prequel series could be on the way at HBO. This one would focus on Aegon I Targaryen and Variety gives the following description:
The show would tell the story of how Aegon and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, used their army and their three dragons to conquer six of the seven kingdoms on Westeros with the exception of Dorne. In doing so, Aegon I became the first king of Westeros, the first to sit on the Iron Throne, and the founder of the Targaryen Dynasty. Those events took place approximately 300 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones.
The show has not officially received the greenlight yet, but active discussions are currently underway.
At the Star Wars Celebration, a teaser was released for the live-action Ahsoka series which is set to premiere in August of this year. It was also announced that David Tennant will be voicing the droid Huyang (reprising his role from Clone Wars) and Lars Mikkelsen will be playing Admiral Thrown (reprising his role from Star Wars: Rebels). Shooting on Andor Season 2 should wrap up around August and that one should make it to Disney+ in Summer 2024. The Acolyte should also arrive sometime next year despite originally having a 2023 release window. There were also two renewal announcements with the animated anthology Tales of the Jedi getting the greenlight for a second season, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch getting a third and final season.
In ratings news, Syfy’s The Ark improved to a 0.07 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 357K total viewers on Wednesday. The numbers for that show had been trending down, but if they hold here as it wraps up its first season the show may still have a chance for renewal. More on that at this link, and you can keep up with the renewal/cancellation status of all the current sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.
In trailers this past week, we got a look at Silo (Apple TV+), Citadel (Prime Video), Secret Invasion (Disney+), and Stephen Amell’s return as Oliver Queen in the next episode of The Flash. You can see all of those at this link.
In scheduling announcements, Netflix has announced June 2nd as the release date for the final ten episodes of Manifest. This coming week will bring the premiere of the final episodes of HBO Max’s Titans on Thursday. You can see the premieres for April 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.
