Tag Archives: Once Upon A Time In Wonderland

Comic Con: Beloved Disney characters join ‘Once Upon A Time’ this season

A princess, a pirate, a wizard, a queen, a knight, and a savior join forces in search of Neverland. That’s what this season 3 teaser masked as a season 2 recapper hypes as near the fall return of ABC’s Once Upon A Time.

The Once team did a good job at not revealing much, but they did say Neverland will play a big part in season 3. And who will we meet there? Well, Peter Pan of course. “Peter Pan has a complicated motivation,” said series co-showrunner Adam Horowitz. “It’s a little different than you’ve seen before.” Added showrunner Eddy Kitsis, “He might be frightening. To some people.” Also on the horizon is the formal introduction of Tinker Bell who has “a surprising connection” to somebody we already know and Ariel aka The Little Mermaid.

After the break you can watch two clips that were screened first at Comic Con. The first teases The Little Mermaids arrival, and the second is an extended look at a funny bit made for the season 2 DVD called “Good Morning Storybrooke” featuring some of the cast.

Elsewhere, it was announced that another Lost alum will be joining the Once family. Naveen Andrews (who played castaway Sayid Jarrah) will embody the villainous Jafar in the Once spinoff Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. Andrews will appear in the first episode as the season’s “very, very, very evil villain” and Kitsis promises his portrayal of the Aladdin character will be “very frightening.” Continue reading Comic Con: Beloved Disney characters join ‘Once Upon A Time’ this season

‘OUAT in Wonderland’ scoop: a longer season promised with hope for more stories to tell

Once fans, perk up! Originally envisioned as a standalone, limited series to bridge the gap during Once Upon A Time‘s winter hiatus, spinoff Once Upon A Time In Wonderland is spinning into a more traditional series for the alphabet network. At the Upfronts, ABC announced that Wonderland will air concurrently in the fall alongside the flagship series; OUAT remains at Sundays at 8 and Wonderland slides into the Thursday at 8 timeslot. And now, EW reports that the original episode order of 13 is being expanded; a final count is still unknown but it will fall between 14 and 21 in total. Traditionally, a show will get a 13 episode order and if it fares well in the ratings it will get “picked up” for a “back nine” or 9 additional episodes usually rounding a full season out at 22 installments. ABC is so confident in this spinoff, however, that it is allowing creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis to craft a story with exactly the right amount of episodes required to tell it.

“We really want to tell the story without having to worry about how to stretch it for five years,” says Kitsis. “The upfront order will be it for the season.” Adds Horowitz, “This is not meant to be a 22-episode season. Whatever it ends up being, we’ll have told a complete story, with a beginning, middle and end.”

So Wonderland remains a standalone tale, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t come back for more. “If the audience responds and people love these characters, the plan would be to bring it back next year and tell a whole new story,” Horowitz says.

The creative duo describe the difference between the flagship series and its spinoff. Once from the beginning was imagined as a long, intricate tale with multiple story arcs that necessitate more than one season to properly pull off. Wonderland, on the other hand, is inherently designed to open and close a major arc inside a single season, much like FX’s American Horror Story does.

On Wonderland Horowitz remarks, “The DNA of this show is different and consciously so. The idea is you can just come on in and enjoy the ride.” Adds Kitsis, “If you’ve seen Once, you’ll be rewarded; if you haven’t, you won’t miss a beat.”

OUAT returns and OUAT In Wonderland premieres this fall on ABC. Watch the Upfronts trailer for Wonderland here.

2013 Upfronts: ABC orders 13 new series for next season

On Tuesday ABC took the stage at the 2013 Upfronts, unveiling 11 new series coming to the network next season: five comedies, seven dramas, and one reality show. Jump after the break to get more information about all of the new shows including synopses, cast and creator/executive producer listings, clips, and initial reactions.

Significant changes to the schedule include: Tuesday night at the network undergoes a complete overhaul; the highly anticipated drama Marvel’s Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. opens the night at 8PM leading into two new sitcoms The Goldbergs and Trophy Wife and another new drama Lucky 7… The Dancing with the Stars results show has been yanked from the sked on Tuesday to make room for S.H.I.E.L.D. and it will now be integrated in the two-hour Stars performance show on Mondays… On Wednesdays The Middle will serve as the lead-in for the new James Caan sitcom Back In The Game and Rebel Wilson’s Super Fun Night gets the plum post-Modern Family slot at 9:30PM; Nashville will continue to close the night… Originally the plan was to have Once spinoff Once Upon A Time In Wonderland air in the winter when the flagship series will be on hiatus, but the network ultimately decided to run both Once and its spinoff concurrently in the fall; Wonderland opens Wednesday night to lead into Shonda Rhimes’ dramas Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal to make for a “empowered female” night… The Neighbors relocates to Fridays at 8:30PM paired with Last Man Standing.

Elsewhere: ABC president Paul Lee shared his plan to divide some of the network’s high profile dramas in 12-episode halves; at least OnceRevenge, and Scandal will air 12 episodes uninterrupted in the fall, take a break, and then return with another 12 episodes that will last until May. Bridging the gap in-between will be limited series like reality show The Quest… Lee also spoke about his “hard decision” to cancel the acclaimed comedy Happy Endings: “I do think Happy Endings is absolutely on brand,” he said. “What we found was it was just too narrow. It was a very hard decision because, as you know, I love that show and I found it very hard to make that decision. On the same token, I think Super Fun Night and Mixology [coming midseason] are broader shows that will bring in a wider audience.” Happy Endings still has the opportunity to be saved by a cable network like USA… Returning sitcom Suburgatory and new comedy Mixology, along with new dramas Killer Women, Mind Games, and Resurrection are being held for midseason… Following in FOX’s footsteps, ABC is touting “limited series” with shorter, cable-like runs; midseason’s Resurrection will play out as a limited series with 13 episodes.

Programs not returning next season: 666 Park AvenueBody of ProofDon’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23, Family Tools, Happy Endings, How To Live With Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life), Last Resort, Malibu Country, Private Practice, Red Widow, and Zero Hour. Continue reading 2013 Upfronts: ABC orders 13 new series for next season

ABC picks up ‘Once Upon A Time In Wonderland’

Here’s the first production still from the Once Upon A Time spinoff now titled Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. English born actress Sophie Lowe stars as Alice, seen for the very first time in the image posted above. Here’s the latest synopsis provided by ABC:

In Victorian England, the young and beautiful Alice (Sophie Lowe) tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole.  An invisible cat, a hookah smoking caterpillar and playing cards that talk are just some of the fantastic things she’s seen during this impossible adventure.  Surely this troubled girl must be insane and her doctors aim to cure her with a treatment that will make her forget everything.  Alice seems ready to put it all behind her, especially the painful memory of the genie she fell in love with and lost forever — the handsome and mysterious Cyrus (Peter Gadiot).  But deep down Alice knows this world is real and just in the nick of time, the sardonic Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha) and the irrepressible White Rabbit (John Lithgow) arrive to save her from a doomed fate. Together, the trio will take a tumble down the rabbit hole to this Wonderland where nothing is impossible.

This fresh adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s tale down the rabbit hole comes from Once co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and will be executive produced by Steve Perlman and Zack Estrin. Wonderland is envisioned as a standalone, limited series that will air when the flagship series is on its winter hiatus. In a way, it will bridge the gap during the break. Next week ABC will be unveiling its entire slate of new series for next season and there the network will likely shed even more light on the exciting promise of a new realm to be explored.