Sci Fi TV News: Weekly digest of the recent news and updates relating to sci fi and fantasy television.
A live-action Phantom TV series is currently in the works with Reginald Hudlin–who previously worked on the Black Panther comic from Marvel–attached to direct. The Phantom is a masked crimefighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla, protecting its people from pirates, smugglers, and other threats. Unlike most superheroes, the Phantom has no superpowers; instead, the legend of his immortality is maintained by a long line of successors, each taking up the mantle to become the latest “Ghost Who Walks”. He is considered to be the first masked crime fighter in comics. King Features will produce the series, though no specific details have been released at this time, and no network or streaming service is currently attached to the project. A previous live-action adaptation of The Phantom hit theaters in 1996, and then in 2009, Syfy produced a mini-series with an updated version of the character that acted as a pilot for a series that was not picked up.
Peacock’s spy fi entry The Copenhagen Test will not be returning for Season 2 as that streamer has decided to cancel the show. According to data from Luminate, this series drew an estimated 1.1 billion minutes of viewing for its premiere week of December 26th to January 1st, getting it off to a strong start. Nielsen had it at an estimated 373 million minutes for the week of December 29th to January 4th, but that was for the U.S. audience only, and it dropped out of the charts the next week. For Peacock, which has between 36 and 41 million subscribers vs. over 200 million for Amazon’s Prime Video and over 300 million for Netflix, those are pretty good viewership numbers, and the cancellation comes as somewhat of a surprise. This one was also relatively well-received, currently holding a 71% Tomatometer Score (based on critics’ reviews) and an 80% Popcornmeter Score (based on viewers’ response) on Rotten Tomatoes. You can read more about the cancellation at CancelledSciFi.com.
The horror/mystery-box series From has been renewed through its fifth season, and that will be its last. The announcement comes shortly before its fourth season premiere, which will arrive this Sunday. The show has performed well for MGM+, and it has been generally well-received, currently holding a 96% Tomatometer Score (based on critics ratings) and an 80% Popcornmeter Score (based on viewers’ ratings) across its first three seasons on Rotten Tomatoes. The viewership for MGM+ is not tracked by Nielsen, but MGM+ has touted it as one of its most-watched original series. The fifth season will give the show a binge-worthy run and also allow it to wrap up its many storylines. You can read more about the renewal at CancelledSciFi.com.
The previously announced Game of Thrones theatrical movie now has a title, Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest, and it is showing up in the latest Production Weekly listings. Details on the plot are limited, but it will focus on the original Targaryen conqueror Aegon I. Variety provides the following additional information:
The history of Aegon I Targaryen was told in Martin’s Fire and Blood book, which chronicled the rises and falls of the various Targaryen kings. The original Aegon was the first to unite the kingdoms of Westeros under one ruler. He forged the Iron Throne from the melted weapons of his enemies and lorded over the land with his two sister-wives and queens, Visenya and Rhaenys. After his death, his heirs continued to serve as kings for many generations (with many of them also named Aegon).
Beau Willimon (Andor) will be writing the script, but neither a director nor any cast members have been announced at this point. With production kicking off now, this one will likely be looking at a late 2027 or early 2028 premiere.
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:
Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 (Netflix): Set between Seasons 2 and 3, this series follows Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas and Max during what appears to be a peaceful winter break filled with snowball fights and Dungeons & Dragons sessions. But when a mysterious threat awakens beneath the snow-covered streets of Hawkins, the young heroes must uncover its source and save their town once more. All episodes will be available on Thursday.
You can see the three-month schedule of sci fi and fantasy TV shows at this link at this link.
