Sci Fi TV News: Weekly digest of the recent news and updates relating to sci fi and fantasy television.
After having some success with The Last of Us, HBO is working on another video game adaptation based on Baldur’s Gate 3 which is set the world of Dungeons & Dragons. That game places players in the role of a character infected with a mind flayer parasite, granting strange powers while threatening eventual transformation. As the story unfolds, players must decide whether to resist, exploit, or embrace this corruption while navigating political intrigue, ancient evils, and personal moral choices. According to Deadline:
The Baldur’s Gate TV series will be a continuation to the games, telling a story that takes place immediately after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, as the characters — old and new — are dealing with the ramifications of the events in the third game.
Craig Mazin, who co-created The Last of Us series, will be onboard as creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner of Baldur’s Gate. No casting announcements have been made at this time, and it will likely be 2027 at the earliest before the series has its premiere.
The Eragon fantasy books by Christopher Paolini will be getting a new adaptation as Disney+ has given the greenlight for a television series based on the property. This was actually originally announced back in 2022, and production finally appears to be moving forward as they have set Todd Harthan and Todd Helbing as showrunners, and the author Paolini will be onboard as executive producer. Following is the official logline for the show:
When destiny selects an ordinary teenager to become the first Dragon Rider in over a hundred years, he must forge an unbreakable bond with his dragon, master ancient magic, and challenge the mad king who destroyed the Riders.
Eragon, the first book in The Inheritance Cycle, was previously adapted on the big screen in 2006, but it received mixed reviews and was considered a disappointment at the Box Office. The television adaptation could potentially cover all of the books in the series if it proves to be a success.
According to the Tachyon Pulse Podcast, Alcon’s television rights for The Expanse will expire this year and revert back to Daniel Abraham’s and Ty Franck’s production company Expanding Universe, leading to the possibility of a continuation of that series. Allegedly, the show came to an end after its sixth season because Amazon/MGM did not want to work with Alcon anymore. Once the rights revert back, there is a chance that the show could be revived in some form. Abraham and Franck are currently working on The Mercy of the Gods for Amazon based on their Captive’s War trilogy.
More episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 are on the way, and this time they are coming from Rifftrax and Shout! Studios. This comes after creator Joel Hodgson sold his joint interest in the property to Shout! Studios parent company Radial Entertainment. A Kickstarter campaign is currently active, and the plan is to fund four new episodes. Original series stars Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett will be the creative leads on the new episodes, and those will be titled Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments. The crowdfunding campaign is currently at $1.7 million (well above its goal), and could end up producing even more episodes. You can contribute and follow its progress at this link.
In production news, filming has wrapped on Netflix’s 3 Body Problem Season 2 which should have it on track to premiere later this year. Vince Gilligan has confirmed that work has begun on writing the second season of Pluribus, but he warned that “it takes some time” and there may be a wait before the show returns.
In casting news, Clea Duval (Carnivale) will be joining the upcoming third and final season of The Last of Us, and Jorge Lendeborg (Spider-Man: Homecoming) will be stepping in to the role of Manny, replacing Danny Ramirez.
In scheduling news, MGM+ has announced April 19th as the premiere for From Season 4. You can see the teaser for that below.
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 Premieres This Week:
Honey Bunch (Shudder): When Diana wakes from a coma with fragmented memories, she and her husband seek experimental treatments at a remote facility. As the procedures intensify, their marriage is put to the test and Diana begins to question her husband’s true motives. This original movie has its premiere on Thursday.
You can see the current week Sci Fi TV Schedule at this link, and you can see the three month view at this link.
