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.
Development announcements have slowed down as the year is wrapping up, but below are a few that I have tracked over the last several weeks.
War of the Worlds
Network: ITV
Production Team: Peter Harness (Writer/Executive Producer, Mammoth Screen (Production Company)
Status: Early Development
About: This will be an adaptation of the H.G. Wells book that will be set in the same time period as the novel instead of a modernized update.
Comments: Peter Harness previously adapted the Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell novel to a mini-series which aired on BBC and BBC America. It is unclear at this point if the War of the Worlds adaptation will be just a mini-series or if it could continue as an ongoing series. Production will not begin until 2017 because they are waiting for the copyright in Britain to expire in 2016. There was a previous War of the Worlds TV series that aired in syndication in 1988-90 which was a spin-off from the 1953 feature film. Source: Blastr.com
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NOS4A2
Network: AMC
Production Team: Joe Hill (Creator), Tornante TV (Production Company)
Status: Early Development
About: “NOS4A2 centers on a woman who tries to save her son from a psychopath who’s survived for centuries by abducting children in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith (license plate NOS4A2) and draining their souls to keep himself young.” Source: CBR
Comments: Based on Hill’s book of the same name, AMC will likely be looking at adding this to their schedule during the second half of 2016. Joe Hill created the Locke & Key comic book series for IDW.
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Knight Rider Heroes
Network: No Network Attached Yet
Production Team: Christopher Rutkowski (Executive Producer)
Starring: David Hasselhoff
Status: Very Early Development?
About: A trailer has been released for this which suggests a connection to the original 1980’s Knight Rider series and which io9.com claims “seems to be some kind of project based on the idea that the Foundation for Law and Government (F.L.A.G.) went underground and then brought Michael and KITT back to duty.”
Comments: It is unclear if this is intended as a TV series or movie or if this is just a teaser to drum up interest in the project.
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Apparition
Network: FOX
Production Team: Albert Torres (Writer/Executive Producer), 20th Century Fox TV (Studio)
Status: Early Development
About: “It centers on a successful New Orleans doctor who is reluctantly pulled into the world of paranormal investigation when she discovers a secret family history that awakens an ability to connect with the afterlife. She teams up with an uncle she never knew she had and a former TV ghost hunter to help troubled souls, dead and live, find peace in this life and the next.” Source: Deadline Hollywood
Comments: This will likely be considered as an entry for the 2016-17 season.
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Botcop
Network: FOX
Production Team: Itai Grunfeld (Writer/Creator), Geoff Barbanell (Writer/Creator), Tracy Katsky (Executive Producer)
Status: Early Development
About: “In 1985, Botcop was the cutting edge of law enforcement technology. But today, this half man, half robot’s dial-up internet and fax machine are as irrelevant as he is. Fired from the LAPD, he takes a minimum wage job as a guard in a wealthy gated community and moves in with his patrol partner, a single Dad in need of help, even if it’s from an arrogant cyborg unaware his best days are behind him.” Source: Deadline Hollywood
Comments: FOX will likely consider this animated sci fi comedy as an addition to their 2016-17 schedule.
