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sf/f TV development news - 2013

Starz has renewed Da Vinci's Demons for a third season. Starz is also developing a series based on the novel Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig.
 
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USA Network has announced its latest development slate and it includes two SF/F shows:

Colony is set in the very near future – 2015 – in Los Angeles, which is occupied by aliens with whom some humans collaborate and benefit from the new order, while others rebel and suffer the consequences. A co-production between Legendary Television and Universal Cable Productions, Colony was written and is executive produced by Carlton Cuse (Bates Motel, Lost) and Ryan Condal (the upcoming Hercules).

The Farm looks at one of the last great family-owned farms in the Midwest, where a father must battle horrors both psychological and diabolical in an effort to save those closest to him from a long-buried evil that has taken control of his only daughter. From writer and executive producer Brandon Camp (Dragonfly) and executive producers Dawn Olmstead (Prison Break), Michael Bay (Transformers films), Andrew Form (upcoming The Last Ship) and Brad Fuller (upcoming The Last Ship), The Farm is produced by Grady Girl Productions and Platinum Dunes in association with Warner Horizon Television.
 
Colony sounds a lot like V. Well, neither previous take on the concept has done it well since the original miniseries; maybe these guys have a new angle.
 
The CW has ordered The Flash, iZombie, and The Messengers to series and renewed The 100 and Beauty and the Beast. Star-Crossed and The Tomorrow People have been cancelled. Rumors started going around in the last week that Beauty and the Beast was going to be renewed. Most sites treated them with great skepticism as a renewal seemed like such a long shot, but it has indeed come through. That's the biggest surprise by far of the renewals this season. I guess off-platform monetization must be good enough to keep it going. The CW passed on Supernatural: Bloodlines.
 
My wife will be happy about The 100, and possibly a bit disappointed with Star-Crossed. I don't watch either so I don't really care. Neither of us made it through the pilot of The Tomorrow People so no loss there. I am pretty stoked about The Flash though.
 
Among this season's remaining freshmen SF/F shows on the broadcast networks, Agents of SHIELD and Resurrection look good for renewal, while Believe and Intelligence look like surefire cancellations. That leaves Dracula as a show with ratings one would normally expect to lead to cancellation but which has a shot at renewal because of a low license fee and good overseas revenues.
 
NBC has ordered Constantine to series. All of the DC Comics shows ordered to pilot this season have now been ordered to series. There will be five DC Comics shows on the broadcast networks next season.
 
The CW has ordered The Flash, iZombie, and The Messengers to series and renewed The 100 and Beauty and the Beast. Star-Crossed and The Tomorrow People have been cancelled.

The pickup of The Flash is excellent news, though far from a shock.

I wish they'd kept Star-Crossed, which has a pretty interesting story and characters aside from the central romantic stuff. And I'm surprised they kept Beauty and the Beast, which I totally lost interest in half a season ago. But I'm glad they kept The 100, and I'm neither surprised nor disappointed by the cancellation of The Tomorrow People, a show that totally fell apart in its last few episodes and that I'd already decided not to bother with anymore if it did come back.

Rumors started going around in the last week that Beauty and the Beast was going to be renewed. Most sites treated them with great skepticism as a renewal seemed like such a long shot, but it has indeed come through. That's the biggest surprise by far of the renewals this season. I guess off-platform monetization must be good enough to keep it going.

Off-platform what now? What is "monetizing" B&tB beyond the show itself?
 
Beauty and the Beast's renewal is pretty shocking to me. They put the show on hiatus and are finishing off season 2 in June. It looked like a goner for sure. It must do well overseas .
 
Beauty and the Beast's renewal is pretty shocking to me. They put the show on hiatus and are finishing off season 2 in June. It looked like a goner for sure. It must do well overseas .

I am surprised because of how they handled it too. I am glad it will continue on. Hopefully the writing will get better, S2 has been pretty bad at times.
 
As expected, ABC has renewed Once Upon a Time and Resurrection for fourth and second seasons respectively. ABC has also ordered The Whispers to series (formerly titled The Visitors), as well as the half-hour fairy tale musical comedy Galavant.

Edit to add: ABC has renewed Agents of SHIELD for a second season and ordered Agent Carter to series.

And another edit: ABC has ordered Forever to series.

Here are the descriptions for ABC's new SF/F shows:

Agent Carter: Marvel’s Agent Carter,” starring “Captain America’s” Hayley Atwell follows the story of Peggy Carter. It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life – Steve Rogers. Inspired by the feature films “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” along with the short “Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter.” “Marvel’s Agent Carter” stars Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter. Executive producers are Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters, Steve McFeely & Christopher Marcus, and Jeph Loeb.

Forever: Doctor Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd), New York City’s star medical examiner, has a secret. He doesn’t just study the dead to solve criminal cases, he does it to solve the mystery that has eluded him for 200 years—the answer to his own inexplicable immortality. This long life has given Henry remarkable observation skills which impresses his new partner Detective Jo Martinez (Alana De La Garza). Each week, a new case and their budding friendship will reveal layers of Henry’s long and colorful past. Only his best friend and confidant, Abe (Judd Hirsch) knows Henry’s secret.

Galavant (Comedy)
EP: Dan Fogelman (The Neighbors)
CAST: Joshua Sasse (Rogue), Vinnie Jones (Elementary), Karen David, Mallory Jansen, Luke Youngblood (Community), guest star Timothy Omundson (Psych)
A musical fairy tale that centers on handsome Prince Galavant and his quest for revenge over the king who stole his one true love.

The Whispers (Drama)
EPs: Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Dawn Olmstead
CAST: Lily Rabe, Barry Sloane, Milo Ventimiglia, Derek Webster, Brianna Brown, Catalina Denis, Kylie Rogers, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf
A drama about an alien invasion, in which earth’s enemies possess children’s bodies to take down humanity.
 
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It's very interesting that it's a period piece. I'll give it a try on that basis alone. I wonder if they'll somehow tie Carter and SHIELD together-- she has an adventure one week and the repercussions are felt seventy years later in SHIELD.

Colony is set in the very near future – 2015 –
That's funny. By the time the show is developed and aired, it will be the present-- or possibly even the past.
 
Some sites are saying NBC has cancelled Revolution. Others say a final decision hasn't been made yet.

Edit to add: now it's official. Revolution has been cancelled.
 
Can't say I'm sorry to see it go. The only reason I watch it is because my wife is still interested. I'm kinda relieved actually.
 
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