News, updates, and (mostly viable) rumors relating to development of science fiction / fantasy television productions. If you have tips or more info on these or other productions, please pass them along in the comments.
Following are some announcements that came out during Comic Con as well as others that I noticed the last few weeks.
Dark Horse TV Adaptations: Dark Horse has signed a deal with Universal Cable Productions to adapt several of the comic book publisher’s titles to television. One of the first targeted is Concrete, the very first superhero that the company published. That series follows a character similar to the Fantastic Four’s the Thing, but he lives in a more realistic world without other superheroes. Other titles currently mentioned in this deal for TV adaptations included Harrow County, Back Up, and The Umbrella Academy. This is all very early in the planning stages with no networks attached, so it may be a while before any of these make it to television.
Supermansion: Bringing Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston back to television, this stop-motion animated television series will stream on Crackle beginning in Fall. Entertainment Weekly gives the following description for the series: “Cranston voices Titanium Rex, the leader of ‘The League of Freedom’, who has to find a way to stay relevant alongside the younger heroes and citizens of the world”. Seth Green will also voice one of the characters and the guest voice cast includes Chris Pine, Ron Perlman, Donald Faison and more.
Channel Zero: This one will be a sci fi / horror anthology series that will air on Syfy and will have a season long story like FX’s American Horror Story and HBO’s True Detectives. Deadline Hollywood gives the following description for the first story arc:
The first season of the series will be based on Candle Cove by Kris Straub, a short story that originates from the user-generated Internet horror phenomenon known as creepypasta. It tells the story of a mysterious children’s television show from the 1980s and the show’s role in a series of murders and one man’s dark secret.
There’s no word yet on a target air date, but likely sometime in 2016.
HBO Comedies: HBO is adding several comedy series to its line-up and two will be of interest to sci fi fans. One as yet unamed project is described as a “comedy about romance and the ‘minutiae of daily existence in a sci-fi afterlife'”. The other, The Brink, is described as “a Dr. Strangelove-style political satire starring Tim Robbins and Jack Black about the potential nuking of Pakistan”. It will likely be 2016 or 2017 before these hit the air.
Jeff and Some Aliens: Comedy Central announced this show and gave the following description in their press release:
Jeff and Some Aliens follows Jeff, the world’s most average guy, and the three aliens sent to study him to determine whether or not humanity should be destroyed. Jeff’s mundane life is constantly thrown into chaos by his extraterrestrial guests – it isn’t always easy having roommates who force you to participate in grueling intergalatic decathalons or perform Azurian honor killings to restore interstellar balance.
It is set to air at some point in 2016.
Spike Shows: Spike is amping up their scripted series and announced several upcoming shows in a recent press release. Follow are three that will be of interesting to sci fi / fantasy fans:
BAD MEDICINE: This psychological horror series centers on a man in pain who is miraculously cured by a brilliant but unconventional doctor who specializes in clinical trials. The man goes all out to help this doctor find more breakthrough cures, only to realize that there are deadly consequences to the work the doctor does. Aaron Mendelsohn serves as writer, Nick Hamm as Executive Producer and Momentum TV as producers.
SECRET AMERICA: Set in the near future, this series explores a society where the threat of terrorism has turned the US government into an autocratic state. The show will chronicle the lives of one family as they fight for survival in a world where everyone is watched and no one can be fully trusted, and where patriotism is demanded, not earned. Alcon Television group President, Sharon Hall serves as Executive Producer, Josh Goldin and Rachel Abramowitz as writers and Jaume Collet-Serra as director. Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson also serve as Executive Producers on this series.
WORLD WAR III: As the world’s geopolitical balance shifts and the next global conflict explodes, America’s Heartland will become Occupied Territory. One man with a troubled past will galvanize a Resistance movement, calling upon ordinary citizens to become the extraordinary heroes of WWIII. Series is produced by Benay Bros. and Bad Hat Harry. Series is Executive Produced by Bryan Singer and written by creators Aaron & Matthew Benay.
No specific air dates were given, but it’s likely they will hit at some point in 2016 and/or 2017.
