12 Upcoming Comic Book TV Shows That Need To Be On Your Radar

As the current television season winds down, it's time once again to bid farewell to our favourite superhero TV shows for another few months. Goodbye, Gotham! Sayonara, Supergirl! A bientôt, Arrow! See you all again in the Fall. Sad though it is, we should still be happy, as the next couple of years look set to be the biggest ever for comic book television. Marvel, DC and several other studios are working on a whole host of exciting projects for the small screen. Some feature well-known characters being brought to life once again, while others showcase lesser-known heroes making their way to the spotlight for the very first time. All of them, though, should definitely be on your radar. On that note, join us as we run through 12 upcoming comic book TV shows that are all in the pipeline, ranked from least anticipated to most. And, as always, feel free to drop us a comment in the usual place with what you're looking forward to seeing on the small screen. 12) Cloak And Dagger Release Date: Winter 2018 on Freeform You've heard about Superman and Lois Lane, and Spider-Man and Mary Jane, but have you heard of Cloak and Dagger - another great superhero romance from Marvel? If you aren't a comics fan, you probably haven't. You will soon, though, thanks to Freeform's new series. Marvel's Cloak and Dagger follows Tandy Bowen/Dagger (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson/Cloak (Aubrey Joseph), two teenagers from very different worlds who come together after they both gain superpowers. In other words, Cloak and Dagger is what you get if you cross Chronicle with Romeo and Juliet. It might not be to every comic book fan's tastes, then, but the idea to take the ubiquitous superhero genre in a teen drama direction is a sound one that could appeal to a fresh new audience. For us hardcore followers of the MCU, Cloak and Dagger has our attention for bringing two underrated characters to the screen for the first time. 11) New Warriors Release Date: 2018 on Freeform Freeform's other Marvel series that's in the works will also branch the Marvel Cinematic Universe into a brand-new territory: the half-hour sitcom. New Warriors will star a team of teen heroes hoping to make their mark on the world. Leading the show will be Squirrel Girl, someone who - despite being a fan favourite - we never thought we'd see brought to live-action. So far though, the MCU has been thoroughly reliable at successfully encompassing different styles, so we have faith that New Warriors will be another hit. The only worry with this one is that DC's recent Powerless showed us that superheroes and sitcoms aren't necessarily a good mix. Hopefully Marvel can prove here - along with Damage Control, if that's still on the cards - that comic book comedies can still work. 10) Judge Dredd: Mega City One Release Date: N/A Perhaps the most celebrated British-created comic book character, Judge Dredd has had a chequered history when it comes to live-action adaptations. The 1995 movie starring Sylvester Stallone completely missed the point of the character and then 2012's Dredd gained a strong cult following but wasn't backed up by impressive box office numbers. The character will soon be returning to our screens, though, thanks to this newly announced TV series. Titled Judge Dredd: Mega City One, it's being developed by IM Global and Dredd's owners Rebellion. Describing the world of the character, IM boss Mark Stern said: "Not only is it a rich world with biting social commentary, but it’s also fun as hell!" That bodes well for the show, as neither of the movies really nailed the mix of elements that Stern described, which are so key to Judge Dredd's exploits in the comics. Will Mega City One's top protector finally get the adaptation he deserves? We certainly hope so. 9) Deadpool: The Animated Series Release Date: 2018 on FXX The Merc with a Mouth is bigger than ever right now, thanks to the recent Ryan Reynolds-starring R-rated hit movie. What better time then to announce that Deadpool will be getting his own TV show? Marvel Television is teaming up with FXX to produce a ten-episode first season of an animated series starring the foul-mouthed fan favourite. Community's Donald Glover will serve as showrunner, along with his frequent collaborator and brother Stephen Glover. It's early days for the project still, so no casting has been announced just yet. Who knows, though, it's possible that Reynolds could reprise his role, especially considering the limited episode count. We're currently in a bit of a golden age of animated series for adults - Rick and Morty, Archer, Bojack Horseman - so we're hopeful that the show we're going to call Deadpool: The Animated Series will be able to carve out a spot for itself in the genre. 8) Black Lightning Release Date: January 2018 on The CW The CW's roster of DC TV shows just keeps on growing. With Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl all enjoying much success, the network will soon be adding Black Lightning to their line-up, as well. The series will star Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, AKA the eponymous electricity-powered hero, as he suits up to save his daughters from the clutches of a local gang. Though airing alongside the four shows set in the Arrowverse, Black Lightning is believed to be completely in its own continuity. Although, we thought that about Supergirl at first, too, and we all know how that ended up turning out. By the sounds of it, Black Lightning looks to be bringing something of the grit of Marvel's Netflix shows, or perhaps Arrow's first couple of seasons, to the DC TV universe. At the very least, it gains points for adapting one of DC's pioneering black superheroes. 7) Inhumans Release Date: September 2017 on ABC The Inhuman race has been rolling around the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a while now, with the concept being introduced back in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s second season. The aim at the time was to set up the incoming Inhumans movie, due in 2020. At some point, however, the feature film idea was retired and the Inhumans have now found their home on the small screen once again. In Marvel's Inhumans, we'll finally meet the Inhuman royal family of Attilan. Led by the king Black Bolt (Anson Mount) and his queen Medusa (Serinda Swann), the show will also feature the likes of advisor Karnak (Ken Leung), general Gorgon (Eme Ikwuakor) and Black Bolt's scheming brother, Maximus (Ramsay Bolton himself, Iwan Rheon). The royal intrigue and court drama no doubt points to Inhumans wanting to be a mash-up of the superhero genre and Game of Thrones. That's something we haven't seen before, though, so we're up for giving this unlikely mash-up a go. That being said, Scott Buck is on duty as showrunner here - let's hope he does a better job than he did on Iron Fist. 6) Runaways Release Date: 2018 on Hulu At last, Marvel have gotten around to bringing Brian K. Vaughan's hit comic series Runaways to life. Like Inhumans, the tale of a group of teen tearaways who decide to team up to stop their supervillain parents' evil plan has been mooted as a film in the past but has now found a home on TV. The first Marvel series to air on Hulu - a rival streaming service to Marvel's usual partner, Netflix - Runaways stars an ensemble of young, upcoming actors. Rhenzy Feliz is team leader and prodigy Alex Wilder; Lyrica Okano is teenage witch Nico Minoru; Virginia Gardner is alien Karolina Dean; Gregg Sulkin is son of genius engineer Chase Stein; Ariela Barer is Gert Yorkes, who owns her own dinosaur; and Allegra Acosta is super-strong preteen Molly Hernandez. The comics are a terrific teenage slant on the Marvel universe, with a lot of wit and smarts, so let's hope the TV adaptation keeps what worked so well on the page. 5) The Punisher Release Date: Fall 2017 on Netflix The breakout star of Daredevil's second season was Frank Castle AKA the Punisher, so it's no surprise that Marvel and Netflix quickly announced that the antihero would be getting his own show. Jon Bernthal will be back to reprise his critically-acclaimed take on the role, with Ebon Moss-Bachrach joining him as his tech support sidekick Micro and Ben Barnes as his nemesis Billy 'The Beaut' Russo. Other than the casting announcements, Marvel and Netflix are currently keeping a lid on all information about The Punisher. Still, we imagine more will come to light after their next collaboration, The Defenders arrives this August - especially since we've got a feeling that Frank Castle will make a cameo appearance in the miniseries. After that show's landed, however, the publicity train should be at full speed ahead for this one. Be prepared for lots of violent, skull-faced goodness to come in the near future. 4) The Gifted Release Date: 2017-2018 season on Fox Fox have finally got their skates on with building up a TV presence for the X-Men universe. After Legion emerged to critical acclaim earlier this year, a second live-action series is soon to arrive. Unlike FX's effort, however, The Gifted will be more directly linked with the movie universe (the trailer revealed that the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants exist in its continuity). Likewise, the show will introduce some classic comics characters, such as Polaris, Thunderbird and Blink. The protagonists, though, are original creations. Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker star as Reed and Caitlin Strucker, respectively, who have to deal with the reveal that their two children are mutants. With X-Men movie director Bryan Singer helming the pilot episode, The Gifted looks to be Fox's answer to the MCU approach to TV spinoffs, as it will tell its own distinct story but take place in a world recognizable from the films. 3) Krypton Release Date: 2017 on Syfy Usually the role of Krypton and the House of El in Superman's story is to simply give him a tragic past. In Syfy's new prequel series, however, we'll finally get to see what life was like on the planet before it blew up and what Kal-El's ancestors got up to. Cameron Cuffe stars as Seg-El, Superman's grandfather, as he fights to clear his family's name after the Els have been ostracized from Kryptonian society. Georgina Campbell will also feature as Lyta Zod, General Zod's ancestor and Seg's forbidden love interest. No doubt the series will explore just how the Houses of El and Zod became bitter enemies. Perhaps what's most exciting about Krypton is that it could be the first TV show to be set within the world of the DC Extended Universe, as the series heavily borrows the aesthetic from Man of Steel. 2) Titans Release Date: 2018 on Untitled DC Digital Service For years, fans have been clamouring to see the Teen Titans get their due in live-action and finally, the decades of waiting are about to pay off. Simply titled Titans, the series will be the first to air on a new brand-new DC-only digital streaming service. Titans will follow Dick Grayson as steps out from under Batman's shadow and sheds his old alter ego of Robin to take on a new one: Nightwing. He'll lead a team of teenage heroes including Starfire and Raven, and from what we understand, the series is being developed by Akiva Goldman (who's also writing the pilot with Marc Haimes), Arrowverse producer Greg Berlanti and DC president Geoff Johns. Quite the team, eh? Out of the several DC TV shows that are currently in the works, the one we're the most hyped for has to be Titans. The fact that Nightwing will soon be leading his own show and his own movie suggests that DC might just be about to share its toys between its different divisions more than before. While Titans is exciting enough on its own, it could also pave the way for even more to come (Batman in the Arrowverse, anyone?). 1) The Defenders Release Date: August 18th, 2017 on Netflix For now, The Defenders is by far our most anticipated upcoming comic book TV show, as it's at the forefront of our minds. After the releases of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist over the past couple of years, the time is finally nigh for their four-way team-up as the Defenders, the newest superhero unit working to save New York. Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter and Finn Jones are returning for the eight episode event miniseries, with just about every major member of each show's supporting cast popping up as well. Best of all is the fact that the legendary Sigourney Weaver will play the villain of the piece, the enigmatic Alexandra. As the culmination of some carefully-planned universe-building that's been years in the making, The Defenders is truly The Avengers of the TV world. After the amount of time we've been waiting for this one, it better not let us down.