It’s that time of year again. Yep, it’s the ‘upfronts’ season, which is when all the US networks reveal to advertisers the new shows that are going to be hitting the TV screens some time from about July this year through to now-ish next year. (BTW, this isn’t the same as the international screenings, which is when the buyers from UK TV networks turn up to see what they’d like to acquire, so we won’t know what will be heading our way for quite some time.)
What do you mean the upfronts aren’t normally until May? Well, you’re quite right, as the likes of Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS and The CW will indeed by showing off all their future wares starting the week of 15th May, as per usual.
However, in the age of Peak TV, there are literally now so many channels producing content that there’s actually one or more upfront presentations by a cable or internet network virtually every day from now until then, with the likes of BET next week, Hulu, YouTube and Vice the week after, and so on. Most of these aren’t producing the kinds of shows that TMINE covers, so don’t be expecting to be inundated by daily treats, I’m afraid, but it’s a still a pretty large spread.
Yesterday, it was Crackle’s turn, but since they don’t actually have any clips to show off, I could comfortably cover it in today’s news. But it was also young adult channel Freeform’s turn, and there’s clips and shows aplenty for you to regard. So after the jump, brace yourself for the excitement of:
It’s Wonder Woman Wednesday, today, I know, which is a day later than usual for Weekly Wonder Woman but can’t be avoided thanks to Bank Holiday Monday. So simply put your hands over your ears, close your eyes and go “La, la, la! There are no important new comics out today!” for a few minutes and then we can carry on as normal.
Done that? Good.
So, lots happened in the fortnight I was away on holiday. We got a new Justice League poster for starters:
Still pretending Superman’s not going to be in it, hey? I’m sure that tactic will pay off big time.
Wonder (Woman) Wednesday was also made official by Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, who are now promising to bring you “something new, from contests, to behind the scenes photos, maybe even never before seen clips” every #WonderWednesday.
In other news, Gadot revealed it was the music of Beyoncé that helped her land the role in the first place.
Hmm. It feels like I’m missing something. Oh yes – Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp are leaving Wonder Woman. Rucka is leaving on a high note given the rather good readership figures the title now has, which makes a nice change from when he was given the boot more than a decade ago for some rather low readership figures.
Before we get to rampant speculation, this is my decision. I just can’t maintain the pace on the title while also fulfilling my commitments to my other collaborators. It is, genuinely, as simple as that…
Liam Sharp just appears to be heading off because Rucka’s off. No word about Nicola Scott, but she’s going to be working with Rucka on Black Magick again, at least, which suggests she might be off, too.
Rucka lays down the timeline for the group departure:
Wonder Woman 23 sees the end of our “primary” storyline, “The Lies/The Truth,” and Wonder Woman 24 serves as something of an epilogue to that tale. Wonder Woman 25 will, I hope, set a table for who is to follow, and provide for them as much room to work and explore and grow.
And who is to follow? Shea Fontana, who’s going to be writing the first five issues at least, starting July 12. Fontana has previously written Diana for the DC Super Hero Girls comic, including a couple of graphic novels, so at least knows the character, even if the audience might have a been a tad younger.
Having worked on DC Super Hero Girls for the last few years, I have a great sense of Wondy, a teenage Wonder Woman in a high school setting, and it’s an honor and an adrenaline rush to be writing her now ‘all grown up’. Many of her core characteristics continue to remain routed in peace, justice and equality, but as an adult she’s seen a lot more war and tragedy, and is dealing with her world from a wiser, more experienced point of view.
Joining her on artwork will be Mirka Andolfo, who’s been doing work on DC Comics: Bombshells, so again no stranger to Wonder Woman.
Right then – after the jump, a look at one of Greg Rucka’s final issues of Wonder Woman, as well as the continuing adventures of the Justice League. We also find out a bit more about what Batman ’66 is up to in 1977.
It’s “What have you been watching?”, my chance to tell you what movies and TV I’ve been watching recently and your chance to recommend anything you’ve been watching.
I’m back. <INSERT PERTINENT DOCTOR WHO QUOTE HERE>.
Oddly, I haven’t missed much in my absence, since not many new shows have started, while plenty have wound up or have taken an Easter break. In fact, I’ve had the time to rewatch all of Marvel’s Iron Fist, as well as an episode of The Champions.
Iron Fist actually held up quite well on a second viewing, although it turns out not to have any hidden depths at all that I missed and the fight scenes do often look quite bad on a bigger screen. But it’s still hugely enjoyable, the soundtrack’s truly marvellous, and it and season 1 of Daredevil are so far the only Netflix Marvel shows that I’ve even been inclined to rewatch.
Next up, of course, is Marvel’s The Defenders, which will be arriving in August during TMINE’s annual break. I presume it’s because they don’t want me to comment on the fact that Daredevil is wearing Iron Fist’s costume in the teaser trailer. Too late, boys. Too late.
As well as the regulars, I’ve also had time to play catch up on a few shows that I’d got behind on. That means that after the jump, I’ll be looking at the final episodes of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Good Fight and Imposters, as well as the latest episodes of The Americans and The Magicians, the return of Doctor Who and the back end of the second season of The Man in the High Castle.
Fortitude I’m now working on so I should have a round-up of the final episodes next week. I’ll also be a lot further along in Midnight Sun, which I’d probably have watched already if the upgrade to the Sky Go iOS app hadn’t resulted in the download rights on the whole series being revoked for some odd reason, meaning I couldn’t watch any of my previously downloaded episodes while I was away.
The Prison Break revival started while I was away, I know, but frankly, I suspect the show’s time has gone and I’ve had enough Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell of late on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, anyway.
Some time in the next few days, I’ll be taking a look at ABC (Australia)’s Hugo Weaving-starrer Seven Types of Ambiguity, which rather than being a documentary about literary criticism is a sort of Rashomon-ish look at a child abduction from the different points of view of all involved. However, awkwardly, as well as being only six rather than seven episodes long, each episode is from a different character’s perspective (I think), so I’m unsure whether I have to watch the whole thing or not.
I did try to watch The Son, AMC (US)’s mini-series Western that stars Pierce Brosnan. Potentially, it sounded quite interesting, with Brosnan playing an old Texan cattle baron during the First World War, while we get flashbacks to his life growing up among the Comanches as a boy after they kill his family. However, it’s AMC, so amazingly slow and boring, so I didn’t even make it through the first episode.
I also gave one other show a try:
Return of the Mac (US: Pop) Yet another one of those TV shows in which celebrities play ‘themselves’ with hilarious results (cf Lopez, Donny!, et al), this sees former New Kid on the Block Joey McIntyre playing a version of himself who wants to do serious acting. Unfortunately, no one else wants him to do serious acting, so when he pitches with his agent to a female-led network, apart from the drooling by the 30- and 40-somethings who used to worship him when they were young, he has to endure the fact they only want to offer him a late night talk show. Can you imagine?
Produced by fellow New Kidder Donnie “Not Mark” Wahlberg and Jenny “Vaccines are Evil” McCarthy, who also cameo as “themselves”, the show struggles to do much beyond set up very easy jokes about reality TV, celebrities, McIntyre and his career, without coming close to even Donny!‘s low bar in finding a remotely interesting gimmick to supplement these low balls.
About the only thing it does well doesn’t even involve McIntyre, as it’s all about his wife’s work with a gloriously over the top stylist. January Jones cameos for all of a minute and is better than everyone else in the cast, despite being January Jones. That should tell you something.
