The Fall 2022 Schedule for Broadcast and Cable Networks Is Slim on Sci Fi and Fantasy Offerings

This past week the broadcast networks announced their schedules for the Fall 2022 season, and several of the cable channels had made announcements prior to that. But sci fi and fantasy shows were few and far between in their lists as the linear networks have shied away from that genre and scripted programming in general. The has become a prevailing trend as the streaming channels have been dominating scripted programming.  But there are still some offerings on that old-school networks of interest.

In past seasons, The CW had been the leader in genre programming among the broadcast networks, but it is going through a potential sale, and a large number of its shows were cancelled this season.  Going into Fall 2022, there are only three–count ’em, three–sci fi/fantasy shows on the schedule.  Stargirl has been shifted from Summer to a Fall start, Kung Fu will return for its third season, and Supernatural prequel The Winchesters will have its premiere.  Held until mid-season are The Flash, Superman & Lois, Riverdale, Nancy Drew, and new series Gotham Knights (which is a DC Comics show but not part of the Arrow-verse).

NBC has the second-most genre entries for Fall among the broadcast nets which totals up to just two.  Prehistoric adventure La Brea returns to the Tuesday night timeslot for its second season.  And the Quantum Leap reboot/sequel series will air after The Voice on Mondays.  Also returning in Fall is the CBS supernatural comedy Ghosts which will pair up with Young Sheldon on Thursdays (a half hour earlier than it aired in its first season).  The reboot of ’90s series Early Edition that CBS was considering adding to the schedule was scrapped.

FOX has two shows of interest to genre fans coming up, though one was shifted over to Summer.  The Fantasy Island reboot that premiered last year and that had been set to return for its second season at the end of this month will get moved to the Fall schedule (the timeslot shown below is just an assumption based on when it previously aired).  Also arriving at some point (FOX has not announced timeslots or premiere windows yet) is the animated series Krapopolis which comes from Rick & Morty creators.  The network chose to pass on the pre-apocalyptic series The Last Police.  ABC has no genre entries on its schedule once again and it had no pilots in the works either.

As for the cable networks, Syfy actually has several shows set for the coming season, though I am not quite sure when they will arrive.  The horror series Chucky will return in Fall for its second season (timeslot below is tentative), and the supernatural dramedy SurrealEstate was uncancelled and will be back for a second year.  But that along with new sci fi entry The Ark and vampire dramedy Reginald the Vampire may not hit the schedule until Mid-Season.

AMC should have a TWD entry airing on Sunday nights, but I’m not sure if the final eight episodes of The Walking Dead will hit in the Summer or if they will hold those to Fall.  If those arrive earlier, then I assume that the new anthology show Tales of the Walking Dead will take over the Sunday night slot in Fall.  The Vampire Chronicles, based on the Anne Rice books, is also in the works, but may not hit the schedule until Mid-Season.

FX has the eleventh season of American Horror Story arriving in Fall, but beyond that I don’t know of any other genre entries set for that network (spin-off series American Horror Stories streams on Hulu) or any of the other cable channels at this point.  That will make for a lean slate on the linear networks for Fall, but I expect the streaming services to pick up the slack.  Below is the preliminary schedule for Fall 2022 along with descriptions for the upcoming new shows (where available).  Be sure to stay tuned to this site for schedule updates and premiere dates.

Preliminary Schedule for Fall 2022:

The Ark (Syfy): The Ark takes place 100 years in the future when planetary colonization missions have begun as a necessity to help secure the survival of the human race. The first of these missions on a spacecraft known as Ark One encounters a catastrophic event causing massive destruction and loss of life. With more than a year left to go before reaching their target planet, a lack of life-sustaining supplies and loss of leadership, the remaining crew must become the best versions of themselves to stay on course and survive. Cast: Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, Reece Ritchie, Stacey Read, Ryan Adams.

Gotham Knights (CW): This series picks up in the aftermath of Bruce Wayne’s murder, with his rebellious adopted son forging an unlikely alliance with the children of Batman’s enemies when they are all framed for killing the Caped Crusader. As the city’s most wanted criminals, this renegade band of misfits must fight to clear their names. But in a Gotham with no Dark Knight to protect it, the city descends into the most dangerous it’s ever been. However, hope comes from the most unexpected of places as this team of mismatched fugitives will become its next generation of saviors known as the Gotham Knights. Cast: TBD

Krapopolis (FOX): Set in ancient Greece and follows a family of humans, gods and monsters trying to run one of the world’s first cities. Written and executive produced by Rick & Morty‘s Dan Harmon. Cast: Hannah Waddingham, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy, Duncan Trussell

Quantum Leap: It’s been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project in the hopes of understanding the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it. Cast: Raymond Lee, Caitlin Bassett, Ernie Hudson, Mason Alexander Park, Nanrisa Lee.

Reginald the Vampire (Syfy): Imagine a world populated by beautiful, fit and vain vampires. Reginald Andres tumbles headlong into it as an unlikely hero who will have to navigate every kind of obstacle – the girl he loves but can’t be with, a bully manager at work and the vampire chieftain who wants him dead. Fortunately, Reginald discovers he has a few unrecognized powers of his own. Cast: Jacob Batalon, Mandela Van Peebles, Em Haine.

The Winchesters (CW): Before Sam and Dean, there was John and Mary. Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester, The Winchesters 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. Cast: Drake Rodger, Meg Donnelly, Jensen Ackles

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 Sci Fi TV Update posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site  for breaking news and updates.