Streaming is king in the latest geek TV news.
Archie Comics’ queen of pinups and fashion Katy Keene is coming to the CW in a spinoff of Riverdale. The network has ordered a pilot centered on Katy and her friends as they chase their dreams in New York City. Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, who also wrote Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (see “Sabrina the Teenage Witch's Chilling Adventures Move to Netflix”), has been tapped to write and executive produce the musical dramedy alongside Michael Grassi. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Jon Goldwater are also executive producing the Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television project.Nancy Drew is also getting a pilot at the CW. The teenage sleuth will be enjoying her last summer at home after graduating high school when tragedy strikes and she spends another year home tied up in a murder investigation. Noga Landau, Josh Schwartz, and Stephanie Savage will write and executive produce the CBS Television Studios and Fake Empire Productions pilot reports Variety. Dynamite Entertainment releases comics based on the property (see “Hardboiled Crime Series Stars Nancy Drew as Femme Fatale”).
Sandra Bullock will be Reborn at Netflix. The actor will star in an adaptation of the Mark Millar and Greg Capullo comic, which follows Bonnie Black, an 80-year-old woman who dies and is reborn in the prime of her life in the magical land of Adystria (see “Millar-Capullo Series Is 'Reborn'”). Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) is directing the film, which Millar and Capullo are executive producing. Bullock is also among the producers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Millar’s Millarworld has been acquired by the streaming giant, and Reborn is the latest of several projects in development (see "Netflix Greenlights Millarworld Projects").Amazon and Warner Bros. are in the midst of a digital sparring match. The retail giant has dropped buy buttons for Warner Bros. TV series, including the Arrowverse titles, and Warner Bros. movies. A notice on the product pages indicates that the shows are unavailable and that “Our agreements with the content provider don’t allow purchase of this title at this time.” The broad sales suspension impacts CW shows Riverdale, Black Lightning, Legacies, Supernatural, The 100, and iZombie; Fox’s Gotham; Syfy’s Krypton; CBS’s Big Bang Theory; ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars; and many other series. Affected movies include Batman vs. Superman, all Batman movies, from Tim Burton to Christopher Nolan, Blade Runner 2049 anbd older classics like Logan's Run and Soylent Green. As of this writing, neither Amazon nor Warner Bros. have made official statements on the sales ban, but the two have dusted up previously over the pricing of Blu-rays and DVDs. The current impasse has been going on for at least a week.
The Star Trek: Discovery spinoff starring Michelle Yeoh is starting to take shape (see “More 'Star Trek’”). The series will follow Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou as she undertakes a role in Starfleet’s shadowy black ops division, Section 31. The as-yet-untitled series is being executive produced by franchise-runner Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth; co-executive produced by Aaron Baiers and Bo Yeon Kim; and written by Erika Lippoldt (Star Trek: Discovery, Reign).
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power will be returning for a second season on April 26. The Netflix series, which debuted its first season on November 13, is showrun by Nimona creator Noelle Stevenson (see “Noelle Stevenson Showrunning 'She-Ra,' 'Captain Underpants,' More”). The first season got largely favorable reviews, with a 100% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The buzz around the show was enough that Netflix moved up the release date for the series debut (see “New 'She-Ra' Trailer Offers More Action And A Snippet Of The Opening Theme”).
With all the geek TV news about shows on streaming networks, the conclusion from a recent analysis might seem obvious: there are now more scripted originals on streaming than there are on basic cable or broadcast television. Based on FX Networks research, there were a record 495 scripted shows on television in 2018, up eight over 2017. Streamers Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Apple aired 32% (160) of those shows. Broadcast came in at 30% (146), followed closely by basic cable with 29% (144). Premium cable accounted for only 9% (45) of scripted originals (via TV Week). CBS All Access and DC Universe are the new kids on the streaming block, and with the pending launch of Disney+ (see “Vision and Scarlet Witch Come to Disney+”) and existing streamers expanding in-house content (see “Don't Expect Daredevil and The Defenders on Disney+ Anytime Soon”), we can probably expect even more scripted series and streaming dominance in 2019.