Arrow Lands On Wednesdays This Fall

Arrow Takes Aim

Arrow, The CW’s new television series based on the DC Comics’ character Green Arrow, will kick off the network’s Wednesday lineup this fall as a lead-in to their super natural drama, Supernatural. The last show from the former network, The WB, Supernatural will be premiering on a new night.

The announcement was accompanied by a still image from Arrow, featuring Stephen Amell (Hung) as the emerald archer Oliver Queen, and a promo clip from the pilot.

The series is being created by the Green Lantern movie screenwriters Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, and Fringe co-executive producer Andrew Kreisberg. Arrow centers on Oliver Queen, a wealthy young spoiled brat, who after spending five years shipwrecked on an island, returns to Starling City (Star City in the comic books) with a mastery of the bow and a new outlook on the world.

Amell is joined by Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn, Katie Cassidy (Supernatural, Melrose Place) as Laurel Lance, David Ramsey (Dexter, Blue Bloods) as John Diggle, Willa Holland (The O.C.) as Thea Queen, with Susanna Thompson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Kings) as Moira Queen and Paul Blackthorne (The Dresden Files, 24) as Detective Quentin Lance.

The official description follows:

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance.

As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.

 Arrow will air Wednesdays this fall at 8 p.m. ET/PT, followed at 9 p.m. by Supernatural, which begins its eighth season.

Axe Cop Coming To Fox’s New Saturday Late Night Animation Block

Axe Cop

Animation Domination HD, the new animation unit of Fox, has acquired the rights to the Axe Cop. Nick Weidenfeld, head of Animation Domination HD, announced that Axe Cop will premiere as part of Fox’s new Saturday late-prime Animation Domination HD block (11 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET/PT) debuting in 2013, and across digital platforms. Six quarter-hour episodes of the new series have been ordered.

Axe Cop began as a web comic by 5-year-old Malachai Nicolle and his 29-year-old brother, Ethan. Later, Dark Horse Comics would publish the print collections of the web series. The comic follows a police officer who wields an axe into battle. His adventures involve fighting bad guys from other planets, rescuing a child from a zombie dog woman, helping Bat Warthog Man find his friends, or babysitting. Axe Cop also works with a team of allies such as the shape-changing Flute Cop.

“Axe Cop is one of the most creative, hilarious and naturally viral comic properties to emerge in the last decade,” Weidenfeld said.”I’ve hoped someone would adapt Axe Cop for television for years and couldn’t be happier that we get to be that someone. Axe Cop has all the makings of an iconic animated series and it will help set the tone for Fox’s new late-prime Saturday animation lineup.”

Beware the Batman Promo

Beware

Cartoon Network has started airing a brief teaser promo for the new animated Batman series, Beware the Batman, which will premiere later this year. The new show will break from past interactions of Batman and render caped crusader with CGI animation.

Official Synopsis Follows:

A cool, new take on the classic Dark Knight franchise, Beware the Batman incorporates Batman’s core characters with a rogues gallery of new villains not previously seen in animated form. Along with backup from ex-secret agent Alfred and lethal swordstress Katana, the Dark Knight faces the twisted machinations of Gotham City’s criminal underworld led by the likes of Anarky, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad and Magpie. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, this action-packed detective thriller deftly redefines what we have come to know as a “Batman show.”

Featuring cutting-edge CGI visuals to match the intricate twists and turns of the narrative, Batman steps out of the shadows and into the spotlight for an entirely new generation of fans. With WBA’s Sam Register executive producing, and Batman Beyond’s Glen Murakami and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated’s Mitch Watson producing, Beware the Batman, based on characters from DC Comics, is coming soon to Cartoon Network.

Eliza Dushku Voices She-Hulk

Agent Of Smash

According to IGN, Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse) will provide the voice of She-Hulk in the upcoming animated Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. Tv series.

Adrian Pasdar (Heroes), who voices Iron Man on the new Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, and voiced Tony Stark in the Marvel Anime: Iron Man series, said that he will be guest starring as Iron Man on the new Hulk series.

Kirkman Brings Thief of Thieves To AMC

To Watch A Thief

The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman, is teaming with AMC again for another adaptation of one of his comic book projects. He will be developing his crime comic Thief of Thieves, which just recently began its run at Image Comics.

“Much like The Walking Dead brought horror to television in a unique and groundbreaking way, I feel Thief of Thieves can do the same thing for heist stories, showing the humanity of all the characters, including the criminals,” Kirkman says.

The project reunites Kirkman and Walking Dead producer David Alpert of Circle of Confusion with Chic Eglee, who they worked with on the first season of the zombie TV series. Eglee will serve as showrunner if Thief of Thieves is picked up as a series.

“AMC recognizes the limitless ideas generated by the comic industry,” Kirkman says. ”Their dedication to bringing The Walking Dead to life as a TV show has been key to its success and I’m excited about the potential of Thief of Thieves to reach similar levels of success.”  

The comic book series launched in February, and the first two issues have sold out. The third issue is scheduled to be in stores Wednesday. Kirkman developed Thief of Thieves while in the writers room for The Walking Dead TV series. Nick Spencer wrote the first arc of Thief of Thieves, with Kirkman serving as head writer to oversee the series.

“Working with AMC has been a tremendously positive experience, and I’m looking forward to continuing and strengthening our relationships there,” Kirkman says. “And I can’t neglect to mention I’ve been dying to work with Chic again since we wrapped on The Walking Dead season one.” 

“It’s incredibly exciting to put the band back together with Robert, Chic and AMC; it just feels great,” Alpert says.