NBC Announces Sci Fi/Fantasy Shows for 2008 and 2009

Getting an early jump on the other networks, NBC has announced its schedule for Summer 2008 through Summer 2009 which includes an amazing nine Science Fiction and Fantasy series plus a mini-series with genre interest. Holdovers from this season include Heroes and Chuck which will be returning to the same timeslots they held in fall 2008, Mondays at 8 PM and 9 PM EST respectively. Both shows will bow in September 2008. Medium will return in January 2009.

On top of the three returning series, NBC has six new genre entries that will bow throughout the year. Fear Itself will debut in Summer 2009. It is a horror anthology from the makers of Masters of Horror, and like that show will showcase the talents of directors well know for their work in horror cinema. The updated Knight Rider, which already had a successful debut with its backdoor pilot in February 2008, has secured itself a spot on the Fall schedule. Also in Fall, Christian Slater will make his debut on the small screen with the Jekyll-and-Hyde-like My Own Worst Enemy. Heroes veteran David Semel will executive produce the series.

In Spring 2009, Merlin will bow in what sounds like a Smallville-like take on the early years of the infamous sorcerer and the young King Arthur. Also in Spring, Kings will bow with a modern-day retelling of the biblical King David story. Michael Green, another Heroes veteran, will executive produce. In Summer 2009, The Listener will air with Toby Logan (Thirteen Ghosts) playing a paramedic who also happens to be a telepath. Lastly, at some point in 2009 we will get the mini-series The Last Templar, a Da Vinci Code-like story dealing with the secrets of the Knights Templar.

Noticeably absent from the schedule is Journeymen, apparently confirming assumptions that NBC would not bring back the low-rated fan favorite. Also, the peacock network has announced that they will not go forward with the Heroes: Origins spin-off believing that it would stretch the creative talent behind Heroes too thin.

More information on the upcoming NBC shows is available at the Sci Fi Wire and Zap2it.


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