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 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.
