Tracking television and movie projects in development and how these are tracking with the current trends in the genre.
By Paul S. White
Video/DVD service Netflix had already made the move toward developing original productions, but now they have also decided to get into the business of saving cancelled shows. They just announced that they will produce new episodes of FOX’s cancelled Arrested Development which, while not a genre series, will definitely draw the attention of sci fi fans when a show they are following might be endangered by poor ratings performance. This now makes Netflix yet one more venue that fans will target for “Save My Show” campaigns, and it would not surprise me if the devoted followers of genre favorites like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Legend of the Seeker, or even Jericho might not try to convince Netflix to bring back one or more of those programs. Arrested Development went off the air back in 2006, making it appear that older shows might still be viable for a revival. I would say the chances of any of the three shows mentioned above or any other sci fi series getting a new life on Netflix is very slim, but that won’t dissuade the dedicated fans trying to bring their shows back.
Of course Netflix’s move into original programming also establishes them as a potential outlet for new science fiction and fantasy programming as well. But I would think any series they produced would be restricted by budget limitations similar to one of the smaller cable networks, and they would likely shy away from special effects heavy productions. They have also yet to air any of their original programming currently in production, so it is uncertain at this point whether this experiment will lead to a steady stream of ongoing original productions. If it does, though, expect some genre offerings to emerge at some point in the future.
Syfy just announced that they will pick up the supernatural comedy Ghost Ghirls with Jack Black attached as executive producer. This series will spoof shows like The Ghost Whisperer and Medium, which seems like an odd move seeing as both of those are off the air now. Still, those shows had long runs (5 seasons for the former and 7 seasons for the latter), and Syfy’s own Being Human probably draws a similar, female-heavy audience. Ghost Ghirls also fits nicely into the “Sci Fi Lite” trend that we have seen from the network over the last few years. This trend has delivered shows typically grounded in the modern world and delivers more character-based, less special effects heavy stories in order to keep production costs down.
NBC announced that they have picked up the pilot for the revival of The Munsters helmed by Bryan Fuller. And while some may think this is a waste of Fuller’s talent (particularly our own Johnny Jay), it could prove a strategic career move for the writer/producer. While Fuller is respected for his talents and the quirky sensibilities, he has had little success with the shows he has created or co-created. Fantasy/supernatural shows such as Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies have received praise from critics and devoted cult followings, but none of these three have survived to even thirty episodes. The Munsters revival follows the trend of bringing branded product to a new audience and if done well, which seems likely with Fuller attached, could give him his first major success on his own. However, if he adds too much of his trademark quirkiness to the project (which is what his fans want, but not necessarily the network execs), it could fail to attract a larger audience and become yet another cult show. I expect that NBC will try to reign in Fuller to some degree on the production, but still hope that he can put his unique stamp on the show.
Another NBC pilot pickup, Beautiful People, looks like it will stick with the trend of sci fi shows that rely less on special effects and stay grounded in or close to the modern world. This series takes place “10 minutes in the future” where “humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like us but are treated like second-class citizens.” And AMC looks to ride the wave of The Walking Dead’s popularity and has picked up a second genre series to pilot. The UFO-based series titled Thunderstuck will have Battlestar Galactica’s David Eick attached as executive producer and will involve the fallout from alien visitations around the world. This one looks to have some similarities to The X-Files and also sticks to the trend of modern day, Earth-based genre shows. (And oddly enough, both of these shows moving into production share titles with rock songs: Marylin Manson’s “The Beautiful People” and AC/DC’s “Thunderstuck”.)
