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.
It was a busy week for sci fi TV news, so buckle in as I try to run down all the big stories.
Bryan Fuller–best know for Hannibal and Pushing Daisies–has a new television series in the works that will go back and act as an “expanded prequel” to the Friday the 13th franchise. To be titled Crystal Lake, Fuller has claimed that “we can use everything” from the movies, suggesting that the show could venture into Hell or even go to outer space! (Collective groan from fans of the franchise.) A24 will be the studio producing the series and it will stream on NBC’s Peacock service. Expect the show to arrive late-2023. A previous television entry titled Friday The 13th: The Series aired in the late-80s, but it was only nominally tied to the franchise.
There were several cancellations announced this week along with one renewal, but the biggest announcement came from HBO as that premium cable service has decided to end Westworld after four seasons. Six seasons had been planned, and series creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were hoping for at least a fifth and final season to wrap up all the storylines. But the show instead became another casualty of corporate hi-jinks due to the behind-the-scenes shakeups driven by the Warner Bros. merger with Discovery. The viewership numbers for the show were down notably in its fourth season, and it cost $20 million per episode, but it was still somewhat of a surprise that the network decided to cancel such a high-profile show. I look at the cancellation in more detail at this link.
The Netflix Red Queen had to get in her quota of cancellations this week and her latest “Off With Their Heads!” verdict saw Fate: The Winx Saga cut down after two seasons. The second season of that show performed quite well in viewership, but apparently Netflix execs use a dartboard to determine the fate of their shows and the dart for this one landed in the wrong spot. Series creator Iginio Straffi has indicated that a CGI series is in the works as well as a big-screen extension for the Winx franchise, but those will likely be tied more closely to the original animated series than the live-action version.
The CW continues to clean house now that the new owners are in place, and Stargirl has been cancelled after three seasons. That show is actually one of the higher-rated scripted entries on the network which indicates that new ownership would rather usher out most of the programming from the prior regime in order to put its own stamp on the network. That involves a new programming direction that will focus on unscripted shows as well as inexpensive procedurals and comedies, so don’t expect much in the way of sci fi/fantasy from the network going forward. To emphasize that, new series The Winchesters has been capped at thirteen episodes for its first season and it could be one-and-done.
One show did get renewed this past week and that was an announcement many fans were eagerly awaiting. Netflix gave the greenlight to a second season of The Sandman three months after its debut. That show has pulled in huge viewership for the streamer, but its renewal was not certain because it is very expensive to produce. It has received much acclaim, though, and if Netflix cancelled that one they might have had a revolt on their hands. Because of the high production values for the show and delayed renewal announcement, the second season likely will not arrive until early-2024.
In casting news, early in the week it was announced that Henry Cavill will be departing from Netflix’s The Witcher and will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games). (For those who consider that a spoiler, there’s no way you would have made it all the way to the fourth season without learning that.) It is unclear if the character will go through some sort of Doctor Who-like transformation to explain the change in appearance. Over at Disney+, Aubry Plaza (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Little Demon) will be jumping onboard the Wandavision spin-off Agatha: Agent of Chaos.
In the streaming ratings, Netflix’s Cabinet of Curiosities entered that streamer’s Top 10 for its premiere week, placing at Number 3 with fifty million hours watched. But we never really know if those numbers are good or bad for Netflix, so we have to just wait and see if the Red Queen issues another “Off With Their Heads!” verdict or if the show is allowed to continue to a second season. More on the streaming and linear ratings for sci fi TV shows at CancelledSciFi.com.
HBO’s post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us has received a premiere date. That show, which is based on the video game of the same name, will be arriving on the premium cable channel on January 15th. Next week brings only one premiere as the long-delayed second season of Warrior Nun will arrive on Netflix on Thursday. You can see all the premieres for November and beyond at this link and you can see the Weekly Listings here.
Be sure to keep up with the news during the week with This Week in Sci Fi TV and 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 of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
