Number 10: “Good Omens”
Where: Amazon Prime
When: Spring 2018
Six one hour episodes
It’s 2018 and the apocalypse is imminent. As an angel (Michael Sheen) and a demon (David Tennant) try to ward it off (they rather enjoy hanging around the Earth) they discover that, through some cosmic mishap, the Antichrist has been placed with the wrong family, a simple suburban family. Although Good Omens comes from a novel and not a comic book, co-creator Neil Gaiman (alongside Terry Pratchett author of the Discworld series) is no stranger to comics. This is one that people have been anxiously awaiting for years!
Number 9: “Watchmen”
Where: HBO
When: 2019 TBA
If you are expecting a sequel, remake or reboot…stop. This new production of The Watchmen by Damon Lindelof (Lost) will take elements from the highly popular story and remix them into a fresh, original series. The cast so far includes: Don Johnson, Louis Gossett Jr, Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Tim Blake Nelson, Adelaide Clemens and Andrew Howard. It takes place in the present and is said not to feature the characters from the Zach Snyder film but will forge it’s own territory. This one is an iffy shot but we’re keeping our minds open.
Number 8: “Twilight Zone”
Where: CBS All-Access
When: 2019 TBA
10 episodes
The first remake of Rod Serlings Twilight Zone appeared on CBS in 1985. The show featured some top name guest stars and more importantly, it had stories that were worthy of its predecessor like “Button, Button” with Brad Davis and Mare Winningham in a Richard Matheson story that was later turned into one of the worst sci-fi movies ever…”The Box“. Subsequent attempts at keeping it going were quite lackluster. The new series will feature Jordan Peele as the host. The Twilight Zone was also a successful comic book series for Gold Key Comics for many years.
Number 7: “The Witcher”
Where: Netflix
When: late 2019
Henry Cavill trades in his Superman tights for a wig in this Game of Thrones type of adventure series. Not much is known about the plot but some production delays suggest it could miss it’s 2019 target and air in 2020.
Number 6: “Swamp Thing”
Where: DC Streaming service
When: May 2019
The new version of DC’s Swamp Thing has been under tight wraps but is rumored to be a darker (‘natch) “R” rated show set away from the super hero shows and focusing on horror. Tentatively scheduled to air between May and August 2019 after The Doom Patrol series ends.
Number 5: “The Umbrella Academy”
Where: Netflix
When: February 15, 2019
Based on the popular graphic novel series, The Umbrella Academy centers on a family of dysfunctional super heroes: The Kraken, The Seance, The Rumor, The Boy, The Horror and The White Violin who reunite after their father’s mysterious death. The series stars Ellen Page, Mary J Blige, Tom Hopper, Robert Sheehan.
Number 4: “Star Girl”
Where: DC Streaming service
When: August 2019
Brec Bassinger will play Courtney Whitmore who takes up the cosmic staff of the original Star Man aka The Star Spangled Kid. Aided by her step father, who used to be side kick Stripesy but who now puts on a giant robot suit and goes by “Stripe”, Star Girl is on a mission to recreate The Justice Society. Ted Grant, “Wildcat”, will be played by The Purge actor Brian Stapf. Lou Ferigno Jr is Hourman. Henry Thomas is Dr. Mid-Nite. They will battle the Injustice Society — Tigress, Sportsmaster, Dragon King and others. We’re excited about this one for seeing the Justice Society in a regular role. Produced by Greg Berlanti, this series is expected to be closer in tone to his other CW creations and less dark than DC has been lately.
Number 3: “Doom Patrol”
Where: DC Streaming service
When: February 15, 2019
When we saw the introduction of The Doom Patrol on the Titans series we were left with one thought: MORE! This quirky collective of odd ball heroes should make for a super hero series unlike any we’ve seen before. The only real shame of it all is bandaging up handsome Matt Bomer’s face! This one is almost here so hang on!
Our top two entries may cause some spoilage for Avengers Endgame so be warned! But we think you’ll forgive us when we reveal…..
Number 2: “Vision and the Scarlet Witch”
Where Disney’s Streaming service
When: late 2019
It simply would have been a huge mistake to kill these two off in the two part Avengers Infinity War. Now we finally have a place where the blossoming love between these two can play out. The series will reportedly be 6 to 8 episodes and have a sizable budget. Hopefully the show will keep more of the tone set by the movies rather than be like the Netflix Marvel shows which were pretty much stripped of everything “super”. It would be fantastic if they can draw more from the comic book and bring in characters such as The Grim Reaper and Agatha Harkness. Make Wanda a mutant again!
Number 1: “Loki”
Where: Disney Streaming service
When: late 2019
Yes! Loki deserved far better than the send off Thanos gave him in the opening minutes of Infinity War. Many people held out hope that the trickster god was still alive and this appears to prove it. Originally when news of these two Marvel series got out, people dismissed them as rumors. Our guess is this show probably won’t be set on Earth but who knows? One thing we do know is that the Disney Streaming service hasn’t even debuted yet so we are skeptical of the premier date but immensely encouraged about the future of the Disney service. These two shows will not feature any other of the big screen heroes (whoever is left standing) but will instead focus more on second tier characters.
And there you have it! Let us know in the comments what shows you are most looking forward to! We sign off now with an obligatory disclaimer: all dates and times are tentative and may change at the whim of the producers!
Top ten
This top ten listing is very helpful. More reviews from this author and I will definitely become a patron!