io9.com put together a list of all the possible sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal/superhero TV series that may be coming our way soon. Some are definite, some are possible, some are rumors. Still, there's an awful lot of exciting stuff in here. Definitely take a look at the whole thing, but here are my own personal top 5.
Poe: A police procedural featuring Edgar Allen Poe as a detective in 1840's Boston? Oh yes. Yes, please.
AKA Jessica Jones: This is based on the comic Alias, by Brian Bendis. It's the story of Jessica Jones, a damaged former superhero who's given up her costume and opened a private detective agency. While she wants to leave the life she inevitably gets drawn into cases involving superheros. The comic is gritty side, with an adult view of sex and violence and relationships. I fear they'll sugarcoat it a bit, and having lots of Marvel Universe guest stars is probably unlikely, but hope springs eternal so I'm interested in seeing what they'd do with this on TV.
Locke and Key: Another comic derived show. This one is based on the comic series of the same name by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son and author of Horns and 20th Century Ghost. You really need to check him out if you haven't already) about a family that retreats to a spooky old house after their father is killed. The house turns out to contain a number of supernatural doors, and everyone seems to want the keys. I think Hill is a terrifically talented dude and, like with Jessica Jones, if they do the comic justice it could be really great
Smokers: Hmm. Starting to see a pattern here. This one is from comic book super star Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) about a group that deals with alien threats in deep space. If you don't know his work, Vaughn is a terrific storyteller and since he's now got some TV experience under his belt (he was on the Lost writing staff for a season or so) I think this out could be really exciting. (And for you Vaughn fans out there. How crazy is it that no one is doing an Ex Machina TV series? Seems perfect to me.)
Dark Tower: This seems like a no-brainer. I'm only a couple books into the Stephen King series (I'm kind of a late adopter) but I like it alot and from everything I've heard they're bringing serious talent to this. Ron Howard is in charge and Javier Bardem may be playing Roland. I also think the idea of wedding a TV series with a trilogy of movies like they're talking about doing here is a really interesting one.
17th Precinct: Don't need much more than "Harry Potter Police drama" from Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore to catch my interest. Moore did amazing things for sci-fi with BSG and I'd love to see him pull off something similar here.
So those are mine. What do you guys think? What upcoming shows are you really looking forward to?
I might have to re-hook-up my cable!
ReplyDeleteThe Wonder Woman show could be really good...or really awful (isn't this how these things always go?). I also thought the Alcatraz show could be interesting.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it saddens me in this list of SF/F shows most of them are urban fantasy and not SF. I miss having an in-space, ship centered, far in the future (or past as the case may be) SF show to watch.
Ooh, you know I'll probably check out all of these.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching The Cape right now, which is lots of fun if you just keep reminding yourself that it's based on a comic, and comic reality is different from real reality.
Thanks for the info, Jeff!
I'm already watching too many series. I should rather concentrate on writing and reading more. But thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNahno ∗ McLein ™
Interesting! Thanks for sharing all this. But I don't watch TV since no channels come in on it...we don't have cable. Just watch DVDs from Netflix, old series and movies that everyone else has already seen--like Medium and Burn Notice. I do love the sci-fi and fantasy types though.
ReplyDelete17th Precinct, definitely. And Grave Sight! I love that series of Charlaine Harris books almost as much as the Dead (Sookie Stackhouse) ones.
ReplyDeleteAngie, I did not know Grave Sight was going to be a series- that's so cool! I hope CBS does it justice. Kind of a weak network for that kind of thing, but I know there is a Sarah Michelle Gellar project underway, I forget the name, but it's in this same kind of urban-fantasy genre. Maybe it will work!
ReplyDeleteI read on Entertainment Weekly that 17th Precinct I believe is being picked up by NBC, and they don't exactly have a strong record with these types of shows (Heroes, awesome first season, really bad after that, and I know because I stuck with it), V, the Cape (which I heard has not been renewed). Promising b/c there's a BSG connection, but.. I'm skeptical.
The HBO series Game of Thrones looks pretty good. I'll have to wait for DVD though.