TV news roundup for Week 16 of 2019
Welcome to the weekly TV news round-up, where we go into the latest TV news regarding renewals, cancellations, and pick-ups. This week we have a number of renewals, another Marvel series bites the dust, a Hugh Laurie sci-fi comedy, and the craziest crossovers you have to see to believe!
Renewed
American broadcast network Fox seems to be happy with their revival of Tim Allen led comedy series Last Man Standing. Fox revived the series for a seventh season after ABC cancelled it after six. Now the series will return for an eighth season.
Ahead of its second season premiere, the 2D animated Big Hero 6 sequel TV series has received a third season renewal. Season 2 will premiere on Monday, May 2 on Disney Channel.
Joining parent series NCIS, which was renewed for a 17th season, are NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans. American broadcast network CBS renewed NCIS: LA for an 11th season and NCIS: New Orleans for a sixth season. There are also rumblings that the series that started it all, JAG, might be revived by CBS. For two upcoming episodes NCIS: LA will bring back David James Elliott and Catherine Bell in their roles as Navy Captain “Harm” Rabb Jr. and Lieutenant Colonel Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie.
Cancelled
Fox has cancelled their Lil Rel Howery (Get Out) starring comedy series Rel after one season. The series was loosely based upon the actor and comedian’s own life.
Furthermore, Fox also cancelled their Marvel’s X-Men based series The Gifted after two seasons. The series does not get the opportunity to completely wrap up its story as fellow X-Men based show Legion over on cable channel FX.
Picked up
Netflix has ordered a six-part comedy series starring Mike Myers (Austin Powers, Shrek) playing multiple roles. Beyond that nothing more is currently known.
HBO has given a series order to Avenue 5, a sci-fi comedy starring Hugh Laurie (House, Blackadder). The series comes from Armando Iannucci (Veep) and will further have roles for Zach Woods (Silicon Valley) and Josh Gad (Frozen). Avenue 5 is set 40 years into the future and is the name of a solar system cruise spaceship of which Laurie is the captain. No premiere date is currently known.
Other developments
Showtime’s live-action adaptation of Microsoft’s first-person shooter sci-fi series Halo has cast the main character Master Chief, a super soldier, in Pablo Schreiber (Orange is the New Black, American Gods).
Deadline knows that American cable channel USA Network’s adaption of Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian sci-fi novel Brave New World moves to NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service and will star Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story). The series is expected to be a big launch title for the new streaming service in 2020. The series by Universal Cable Productions and Amblin Television will tell the story of a society that has achieved a utopia thanks to the prohibition of monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself.
Amazon Prime Video’s American adaptation of British sci-fi series Utopia has signed John Cusack (The Raven) on for the nine-episode first season. The story is about a group of online friends who start to be hunted down by a shadowy organisation when they come into the possession of a near-mythical graphic novel. Here is the trailer of the original British series that lasted for two six-episode series.
Skydance Television and The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization want to make a current day set TV series adaption, with additional new songs, of the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II Oklahoma!, based upon Lynn Riggs’ 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs. The musical opened on New York City’s Broadway on March 31, 1943, to great success. The story is originally set in 1906’s Claremore in the American state of Oklahoma and tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and farmhand Jud Fry. Bekah Brunstetter (This Is Us) and John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) are writing the script, with Hancock also directing the first episode. No broadcaster is currently known.
Some troubling news around American streaming service DC Universe and its Original Series Swamp Thing. The series, coming from James Wan (Aquaman) and Len Wiseman (Sleepy Hollow, Lucifer), has its episode number cut from 13 to 10 episodes. This was apparently done because WarnerMedia is re-evaluating the streaming service. This could mean anything of course but sounds a bit troubling. Currently, Titans second season, the Stargirl series, and the animated Harley Quinn series are still in production. More on it as we hear it, and until that time Swamp Thing’s series will premiere on Friday, May 31.
Trailers
Netflix has released a trailer for the five-part miniseries When They See Us, from Ava DuVernay (Selma) and based upon real events. The miniseries is released on Friday, May 31.
Netflix also released a trailer for animated comedy series Tuca & Bertie. Season 1 is released on Friday, May 3.
Furthermore, Netflix released a teaser trailer for supernatural Jordan Original Series Jinn, in which a girl releases a, well, Jinn. Season 1 is released on Thursday, June 13.
More international TV from Netflix with the trailer of Season 2 of post-apocalyptic Danish Original Series The Rain. The new season is released on Friday, May 17.
American cable channel Syfy has released a trailer for their second season of DC comics based “Superman meets Terminator” (in concept) TV series Krypton. Season 2 starts Wednesday, June 12.
American streaming service CBS All Access has released a trailer for their second season of biographical drama Strange Angel, based upon the biography Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons by George Pendle. Season 2 starts Thursday, June 13.
As part of their Respect campaign Sesame Street, which airs on HBO and American public broadcaster PBS, has teamed up with HBO’s biggest hits Game Of Thrones and Westworld. Sesame Street has parodied hit TV series, like The Walking Dead, House of Cards and Boardwalk Empire before, but never had they actually crossed over. The result has to be seen to be believed!
Streaming service Amazon Prime Video has released a new trailer for their adaption of Garth Ennis (Preacher) and Darick Robertson’s (Transmetropolitan) comic The Boys. The very NSFW series will premiere on Friday, July 26.
American cable channel the Paramount Network TV Land has released a first trailer for comedy series Younger’s Season 6, which premieres on Wednesday, June 12.
That’s it for this week, but join us next time when we round-up the TV news of that week.
