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.
There’s a lot to unpack from this last week but let’s start out with one of the biggest stories. Disney+ came up with an absolutely brilliant idea. I mean absolutely brilliant! They decided to bring back a show that practically everybody loves and that practically everybody wants back! Daredevil, starring Charlie Cox, will be returning to the small screen on Disney+ after four years of fans clamoring for it to come back and keeping it trending on the social nets. Those execs over at that streaming service must be geniuses.
There is not a lot of info on the revival yet, but it will follow out of the original series that ran on Netflix and Cox will reprise the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil (he recently showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home). We also know that Vincent D’Onofrio will return as Kingpin (he showed up in the Hawkeye series). There is no word yet on whether Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson will reprise their roles from the original show. There is also no word on whether Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher, et al could be coming back, but that could hinge on the success of the new Daredevil series. Matt Corman and Chris Ord (Covert Affairs) will write and executive produce the revival.
The broadcast networks announced their Fall 2022 schedules and those contain very little of interest to sci fi and fantasy fans. The CW has only three genre entries on the Fall sched after going on its slash and burn of shows the past few weeks. NBC has two shows with returning La Brea and the Quantum Leap reboot/sequel series. FOX is giving us crap . . . err . . . make that Krapopolis which comes from Rick and Morty creators and may actually be fun. That network is also shifting Fantasy Island to the Fall schedule from Summer. And ABC has bowed out from genre shows like it did last season. You can see my full rundown of the upcoming schedule at this link.
Despite the dearth of sci fi shows on the broadcast networks, the Babylon 5 reboot that nobody asked for is still in the works at The CW. The has been rolled into the development pipeline for the coming year and it would be Mid-Season at the earliest before it could hit the air if it does happen. Original series creator J. Michael Straczynski is writing and executive producing and he calls it a “from-the-ground-up reboot”. Though it sure seems like a sequel series set in the same universe as the original would be the better way to go.
Meanwhile, a show that everybody wants back has a new season in the works. Netflix actually did something smart for once as they announced that Black Mirror–which has been in limbo for three years–will be returning for a sixth season. There is no word yet on when it will be back or how many episodes we will get, but at least we know the show will be streaming again at some point.
With the cancellation of three Arrow-verse shows this season (Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and Naomi), you might think that the franchise is on its last legs at The CW, but network boss Mark Pedowitz claims differently. He commented that the network is “staying in the superhero business” pointing out that it still has The Flash, Superman & Lois, and Stargirl on the schedule plus new series Gotham Knights (which is not tied to the Arrow-verse). But The Flash could be heading into its final season and there has been no word on a fourth year of Stargirl yet, so I am dubious at this point. This might also be a good time to point out that network execs do not live in the real world.
The broadcast networks were not the only ones making schedule announcements this past week. Disney+ has announced August 17th as the premiere date for She-Hulk (see the trailer below) and given an August release window for the Rogue One spin-off series Andor. Also, the third season of The Mandolorian and the upcoming Ahsoka series could arrive later this year or early 2023. Also, the long-lost second season of Blood & Treasure finally has a release date of July 17th and that one will be switching from CBS to Paramount+.
This coming week brings two big premieres as the Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi has its bow on Disney+ on August 27th and Stranger Things returns for the first half of its fourth season on Netflix on the same day. You can see all the premieres for May and beyond at this link and you can see the Weekly Listings here.
In trailers this past week, there were a bunch. I mean a whole bunch! The highlights are below and you can see more over at r/SciFiTV.
Did I miss anything? Probably because I was traveling and a lot happened during the week, so let me know in the comments below.
Be sure to keep up with the news during the week with This Week in Sci Fi TV and r/SciFiTV.
Trailers
She-Hulk (Disney+): Tatiana Maslany stars as She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who specializes in superhuman-oriented legal cases. Premieres August 17th.
For All Mankind (Apple TV+): The propulsive new season of the alternate-reality series takes viewers to a new decade, moving into the early ’90s with a high-octane race to a new planetary frontier: Mars. Season 3 premieres June 10th.
The Boys (Prime Video): The Boys is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven”, and their formidable Vought backing. Season 3 premieres June 3rd.
The Winchesters (CW): Before Sam and Dean, there was John and Mary. Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester, this is the epic, untold love story of how John met Mary, and how they put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world. Premieres Fall 2022.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
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.
