As expected, Fox has handed out series orders to its two remaining drama pilots: Minority Report, a continuation of the 2002 sci-fi thriller, and DC Comics adaptation Lucifer.
Picking up 10 years after the end of Precrime in Washington, D.C., Minority Report will follow one of the three remaining “Precogs,” mutated humans with psychic abilities that the government uses to thwart future crimes, as he attempts to live a normal life. Struggling with his visions, the Precog partners with a haunted female detective and begins to use his gifts, once more, for the greater good. Stark Sands and Meagan Good star.
The pickup comes as absolutely no surprise, given the property’s familiarity and the heavy hitters behind the adaptation (including showrunner Kevin Falls, of The West Wing fame, and Godzilla scribe Max Borenstein). It was always one of the slam-dunks, and really the only reason for delay in picking it up was that a lot of ink needed to hit paper first.
Intriguingly, Minority Report isn’t the only TV adaptation of a beloved movie hitting screens this fall – CBS has ordered Limitless and Rush Hour to series. Especially after a seasons of ups and downs for most of the major networks (Fox saw everything apart from Empire sink, while CBS watched Stalker and Battle Creek flop), it makes sense that execs would want to invest in existing properties.
As for Lucifer, the quirky, dark series centers on Satan himself (Tom Ellis), who is bored watching over Hell and decides to bunk off to Los Angeles, where he finds himself enamored with the over-the-top spectacle of the city and decides to make a new name for himself helping the LAPD punish the worst of the worst. Lauren German, Rachael Harris, DB Woodside, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Nicholas Gonzalez and Scarlett Estevez co-star.
The series, which will take an irreverent approach to its David Bowie-inspired main character, has the support of many comic-book aficionados already. Lucifer has popped up in multiple comics since 1962, including Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.
Superheroes are still dominating on the small screen this fall. CBS will debut Supergirl, Fox has renewed Gotham for a second season, The CW is the most prolific of the bunch with Arrow, The Flash and a new spinoff, and ABC is doubling down on Marvel with renewals for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. Only NBC is missing out on the trend, having canned Constantine.
For Fox, Minority Report and Lucifer join cop procedural The Frankenstein Code, medical drama Rosewood and the X-Files revival, as well as Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens, which was ordered way earlier in the year.