Sci Fi TV Highlights: Premiere for The Sandman Season 2 Vol. 2, Assassin’s Creed Live-Action Series Moving Forward at Netflix, and More

Sci Fi TV Highlights: A look at the upcoming schedule of sci fi and fantasy shows as well as recent news and/or trailers of note.

Sci Fi TV Premieres This Week:

The Sandman (Netflix): When the Kindly Ones turn a sorrow-stricken mother into a vessel of vengeance, their combined power puts Lord Morpheus’ realm — and life — in jeopardy. All episodes of Season 2 Vol. 2 will be available for streaming on Thursday.

Schedule Notes:

Wrapping up this week is Rick & Morty which will have its 8th season finale on Sunday. That show has been renewed through its tenth season. Below are the full listings for the current week, and you can see all of the premieres for July and beyond at this link. The two-week view of the schedule is available here.

Prime Time Sci Fi TV Listings for the Week of Jul 21 – Jul 27

Links are to the show pages on this site with additional series info, trailers, updates and more. Broadcast/Cable Listings Source: Zap2It.com

Highlights for the Week of Jul 28 – Aug 3

Twisted Metal (Peacock): Season 2 Premieres on Thu Jul 31st

Sci Fi TV News of Note:

The long-in-the-works Assassin’s Creed television series is finally moving forward at Netflix. It was first announced five years ago and has gone through several creative teams so far. Following is the official logline for the series:

Assassin’s Creed is centered on the secret war between two shadowy factions — one set on determining mankind’s future through control and manipulation, while the other fights to preserve free will. The series follows its characters across pivotal historical events as they battle to shape humanity’s destiny.

Roberto Patino (DMZ, Westworld) and David Wiener (Halo: The Series) are the current showrunners/executive producers tasked with getting the series up and running. This one will likely be looking at a late 2026 or early 2027 premiere, assuming there are no further setbacks.

Also in the works at Netflix is a live-action reboot of the environmental-friendly animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The streamer picked up the property in a competitive situation, and Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Shining Girls) will be onboard as executive producers while Tara Hernandez (Mrs. Davis) will be writing for the series. There is not a lot of information at this point about what direction the new series will take, but expect it to keep the environmental themes as a central focus.

An animated series based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars books is in the works and the first sneak peak will be available at San Diego Comic Con this week.  Michael Kogge is developing this with the Burroughs estate and he is also in the process of producing a full cast set of John Carter audiobooks.  No network or streaming service is attached to the animated series at this point, but it should draw plenty of interest.

The Emmy nominations were released this week which included Best Drama Series nods for Andor, Paradise, The Last of Us, and Severance, Best Comedy Series for What We Do in the Shadows, Best Limited or Anthology Series for Black Mirror and The Penguin, Best Actor in a Drama Series for Sterling K. Brown in Paradise and Adam Scott in Severance, Best Actress in a Drama Series for Britt Lower in Severance and Bella Ramsey in The Last of Us. You can see the full list of nominations at this link.

Out of the Emmy nominations came the announcement that the third season of The Last of Us will arrive at some point in 2027, and according to HBO boss Casey Bloys, that could be its last.

In production news, work has begun on HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, Season 2 of Apple TV+’s Murderbot, Season 3 of The Walking Dead: Dead City, and more. You can read about those in the latest Sci Fi TV Production Report post. Also, filming has wrapped on HBO’s live-action Lanterns series, and that one is on track to premiere early 2026, while filming has begun on the Punisher special at Disney+.

In renewal announcements this week, AMC gave the official greenlight for a third season of The Walking Dead: Dead City, and Amazon has extended Invincible to a fifth season several months before the premiere of its fourth year. Expect even more renewal announcements to come out of Comic Con next week.

Keep up with the latest sci fi TV news and discuss current and past shows at r/SciFiTV and stay up to date on the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts.

Sci Fi TV Trailers:

Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu): When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat. FX’s Alien: Earth is created for television and executive produced by Noah Hawley. Premieres August 12th.

You can see more recent sci fi TV trailers r/SciFiTV.

Keep up with the status of all the current sci fi and fantasy shows as well as news and updates on new and upcoming shows at CancelledSciFi.com.

Cancellation Watch: Status updates and breaking news on renewals and cancellations

Sci Fi TV Highlights: Listings for the upcoming week along with the latest sci fi TV news and trailers.

Sci Fi TV Production Report: News on which sci fi TV shows are moving into production.

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