It is that time of year again where we find out that Fox are inevitably cancelling a show much loved by fans and shows we don’t really care about, get another series. I bring you a round up of who made it and whose time is up in the land of television, as well as the news stuff we can look forward to.
Let us start with the good news. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has been given a second season, some of you may groan, probably those of you who gave up a while ago, but as I expected this series stepped it up in the last few episodes and with the series finale just around the corner, we’re expecting it to end on a high.
In other exciting Marvel news the much rumoured Agent Carter series has been given the green light by ABC and will see Hayley Atwell reprise her role. Carrying on from the short featured on the Iron Man 3 DVD where Carter, doing her menial desk job after the loss of Steve Rogers, receive a phone call that informs her she is the new co-head of an agency named S.H.I.E.L.D. Set in 1946 the series will tell the story of how Carter balances her boring desk job and secret missions. The official description reads “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.”
Over on the other side DC have done very well with Constantine, Flash and iZombie all getting full series orders.
The Flash was originally intended to have a back door pilot in Arrow, but with such a good response from fans to Grant Gustin‘s Barry Allen it was decided to give the series a traditional pilot. Anticipation surrounding this series is high and CW are under a lot of pressure to do the this incarnation of the Flash justice.
Constantine stars Matt Ryan as the supernatural detective in the fantasy drama based on the comic character. NBC sums up the series as this “Armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and his wickedly naughty wit, he [Constantine] fights the good fight – or at least he did. With his soul already damned to hell, he’s decided to leave his do-gooder life behind, but when demons target Liv (Lucy Griffiths), the daughter of one of Constantine’s oldest friends, he’s reluctantly thrust back into the fray – and he’ll do whatever it takes to save her.”
The one I am particulary looking forward to is iZombie from CW. Based on the DC Comic, iZombie revolves around a med student played by Rose McIver, who finds herself as a zombie and gets a job in a coroners office, where she has access to reluctantly eat the brains she requires. Turns out the eating the brain has consequences and she finds herself able to inheriting the memories of the deceased. Using this knowledge she helps her medical examiner boss and a homicide detective to solves murders.
With a new trailer we also get confirmation that Fox have ordered at least 13 episodes of Gotham, though this comes as no surprise. Revolving around the origins of many a villain and hero from Gotham, the series will focus on Detective Jim Gordon and will feature the murder of the Wayne family, the young grieving Bruce, Catwoman, The Riddler, The Penguin, Poison Ivy all before they became the notorious characters known to us all. The latest cast picture also hints that we may get to see the Joker (it’s tiny, but just there at the top, is a pack of cards…)
There are many new and interesting series to look forward to including Messengers, An ominous darkness invades a seemingly serene sunflower farm in North Dakota, and the Solomon family is torn apart by suspicion, mayhem and murder. Forever – A 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality starring Ioan Gruffudd. Last Man on Earth, a single camera comedy created by and starring Will Forte, and though information is sparse, as the title would suggest, it focuses on the last remaining human on the planet.
Other series of note that have been renewed include Castle, Once Upon a Time, Hannibal, Elementary, Arrow and Modern Family.
Now for the bad news. There are two shows that have been cancelled that have resulted in internet uproar. Firstly, Almost Human. Starring Karl Urban, a show that I feel filled a gap in sci fi genre. The cop buddy format focused on a not too distant future where human and android must partner up to fight crime. It had sci-fi, action and elements of comedy, a good mix by anyone’s standard. Once again Fox screwed this show over by moving it to a Monday night and airing them out of order – why is it Fox do this? Just doesn’t make any sense. Outrage on this cancellation has resulted in an online petition demanding renewal. Click here to add your name.
Community is the second show that has caused the internets to weep. Announced only yesterday, NBC have confirmed there will be no sixth season of the cult comedy. Whilst people state their outrage, there are whispers of hope circulating suggesting the likes of Netflix or Amazon may be interested, but is this only hope and not confirmation. Fans are at least commiserating that the comedy is going out on a high with creator Dan Harmon back at the helm.
A show that didn’t even make it to a series is Supernatural: Bloodlines. The back door pilot aired just last week and was not very well received by the huge and influential Supernatural fanbase. CW aren’t ruling out some kind of spin-off but for now it’s back to the drawing board for the creators. A few more cancellations include J.J Abrams’ Revolution, Tomorrow People, Crisis and The Carrie Diaries.
What do we think? Which cancellations outrage you? Which shows are you most looking forward to in the 2014-2015? As always comment below.
