The content purge continues, and yet two more sci fi/fantasy shows have been kicked to the curb before they had a chance to air. Disney+ has decided to drop from its lineup the Captain Nemo origin story Nautilus, and it will also not be streaming the television adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Both shows had completed filming, but now neither of them have a home. This is part of the content removal plan that Disney announced in May 2023 with the goal to cut $3 billion company-wide in non-sports programming. The company will take an impairment charge on shows like this, as well as productions that were previously available like Willow, and that will count as a write down for tax purposes. Both Nautilus and The Spiderwick Chronicles will be shopped to other venues, and they should generate some interest. But they were likely expensive to produce, so the prospects of them continuing beyond their completed seasons are not good.
We are seeing this more often across the streaming services with Amazon recently reversing the second season renewal of The Peripheral and Paramount+ dumping the second season of Star Trek: Prodigy even though it was mostly completed. These are symptoms of what I call the Peak TV Crunch, which is the backlash from the scramble by the streaming services and linear networks to crank out as much original content as possible. And this is yet another sign that the bubble is about to burst (more on that at this link). Other shows that have been cancelled before they were completed include Sam Esmail’s Metropolis and the television adaptation of Gattaca. And I expect more cancellations of current shows to follow as well as reversals of renewals as the various venues succumb to the pressure of their overspending.
Nautilus is a British-made series that follows the early years of the Jules Verne character Captain Nemo. Deadline gives the following description of that show:
Nemo is an Indian Prince robbed of his birth right and family, a prisoner of the East India Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces which have taken everything from him. But once he sets sail with his ragtag crew on board the awe-inspiring Nautilus, he not only battles with his enemy, he also discovers a magical underwater world.
The first season consists of ten episodes and stars Shazad Latif, Georgia Flood, Thierry Frémont, Pacharo Mzembe, and Arlo Green.
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a live-action television adaptation of the children’s fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Deadline gives the following description of the series:
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a contemporary American gothic coming-of-age story. Upon leaving New York and moving to Michigan and into their run-down ancestral home—The Spiderwick Estate—with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world.
Eight episodes were produced and it stars Christian Slater, Jack Dylan Grazer, Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, and Joy Bryant. It comes from Paramount Studios and Paramount+ is a possible landing spot, but that streamer has been going through cost-cutting as well.
Stay tuned to this site as we continue to track the fallout from the Peak TV Crunch and its impacts the current sci fi and fantasy shows.
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
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.
