Posted in: Amazon Studios, FX, SYFY, TV | Tagged: criminal, revival, The Beauty

Revival, Criminal & The Beauty: 3 Series Adapts on BCTV's Radar

Here's a look at three comics adaptations that should be on your radars: SYFY's Revival, Prime Video's Criminal, and FX's The Beauty.

Over the past few weeks, there's been a lot of talk about how Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios are going to dial back their focus on television when it comes to the MCU. Meanwhile, James Gunn, Peter Safran, and DC Studios appear to be going all-in on having prestige television as part of their new DCU. With all that chatter going on, we just wanted to remind you that three upcoming non-Marvel & DC comics adaptations have been on our radar since they were first announced, and we want to make sure they're on your radars, too. First up, we have showrunners Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce's adaptation of writer Tim Seeley and artist Mike Norton's Image Comics series Revival set to hit SYFY screens on June 12th. In addition, we have Prime Video's Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy)-starring series adaptation of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's multi-Eisner Award-winning graphic novel series Criminal, from showrunners Brubaker and Jordan Harper. Being Ryan Murphy fans, we couldn't forget his and FX's series adaptation of Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley's comic book series The Beauty.

SYFY's "Revival" Debuts June 12th

On one miraculous day in rural Wisconsin, the recently deceased suddenly rise from their graves. But this is no zombie story, as the "revived" appear and act just like they once were. When local Officer and single mother Dana Cypress (Scrofano) is unexpectedly thrown into the center of a brutal murder mystery of her own, she's left to make sense of the chaos amidst a town gripped by fear and confusion where everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.

Set to hit SYFY screens beginning Thursday, June 12th, the series adaptation stars Melanie Scrofano (Wynonna Earp: Vengeance), Romy Weltman (Slasher), David James Elliott (JAG), Andy McQueen (Mrs. Davis), Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Snowpiercer), CM Punk (Heels), Gia Sandhu (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), Katherine King So (The Voyeurs), Maia Jae Bastidas (Gen V), Nathan Dales (Letterkenny), Mark Little (Mr. D), Glen Gould (Tulsa King), Lara Jean Chorostecki (Hannibal), and Conrad Coates (Fargo).

Scrofano's Dana Cypress is "constantly having to prove her worth to a stubborn sheriff, who just so happens to be her father. And just when she is about to leave her small town for good, the events of Revival Day change that, instead sending her into her most important case to date."

Weltman's Martha "Em" Cypress is the sheriff's younger daughter who, "having led a very sheltered life due to a recurring illness, is still figuring out her place in the world. A world that, for her in particular, is now turned upside down."

Elliott's Wayne Cypress is the longtime Wausau sheriff who is "determined to keep his town and family as normal and safe as possible — a tall order when the dead return to life in the small town he's sworn to protect."

McQueen's Ibrahim Ramin is a scientist from the Center for Disease Control "who has been stationed in Wausau to study the bizarre phenomenon that brought people back to life."

"Raised by a fire-and-brimstone pastor," Ogg's Blaine Abel sees Revival Day as his divine calling and will use the fear and chaos within Wausau to build and rally a militia of true believers against the Revivers."

Sandhu's Nithiya Weimar is "a seasoned psychologist fighting Stage 4 cancer."

King So's May Tao is "a local journalist with a healthy distrust of the Wausau Police who harbors big secrets of her own."

Bastidas' Kay is "Em's opinionated college roommate with a penchant for getting high and getting into trouble."

Dales' Deputy McCray is "the obnoxious, abrasive head of the local Drug Task Force.

Little's Deputy Brent is "Dana's closest confidant on the force – quirky, sweet-hearted, and the lead bowler of the Pinsconsin Pride."

Gould's Deputy JP Brissett is "second in command under Wayne Cypress, a sheriff's deputy who is one of the few that can keep a level head within the chaos following Revival Day."

Chorostecki's Patty Cypress is the "deceased mother of Em and Dana and the late wife of Wayne Cypress. The glue that held the Cypress family together."

Coates' Mayor Dillisch is "Wausau's Mayor who, despite his best efforts, is thrown into the center of the Revival Day mystery and is constantly at odds with the Sheriff."

Produced by Blue Ice Pictures and Hemmings Films, the upcoming SYFY series Revival was created by showrunners Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce, who executive produce alongside Scrofano, Lance Samuels, Daniel Iron, Samantha Levine, Daniel March, Greg Hemmings, Neil Tabatznik, Stephen Foster, and Amanda Row.

Amazon's Prime Video's "Criminal"

Back in 2019, Brubaker shared that Criminal "tells the interweaving saga of several generations of families tied together by the crimes and murders of the past." Six years later, Prime Video's live-action interlocking universe of crime stories appears ready to hit screens later this year. Earlier this year, we learned from a press release that the first season will cover the first two story arcs of the comic book series, "Coward" and "Lawless" – with the following overviews for the two volumes:

• In the first installment of the bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning crime noir series, "Criminal, Volume 1: Coward," readers meet Leo, a world-class pickpocket who is pressed into helping the cops pull off a heist. But when the job goes terribly wrong, Leo must go into hiding, his dire situation escalates, forcing the thief to put his skills to the test.
• "Criminal, Volume 2: Lawless" is a story of brotherly love and hate, as Tracy Lawless returns home to find out who murdered his kid brother, and how much their family history has doomed them both. This is where Brubaker and Phillips take the world they created in volume one and begin stretching the boundaries of what crime comics can be.

The cast for the upcoming series includes Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) as Leo, Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as Mallory, Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) as Ivan, Luke Evans (Nine Perfect Strangers) as Tracy Lawless, Adria Arjona (Hit Man, Andor) as Greta, Pat Healy (Better Call Saul) as Seymour, Taylor Selé (BMF) as Royal, John Hawkes (HBO's True Detective: Night Country) as Sebastian Hyde, Gus Halper (Rustin) as Ricky Lawless, Logan Browning (Dear White People) as Jenny, Kadeem Hardison (The Chi) as Gnarly, Aliyah Camacho (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) as Angie, Michael Mando (Better Call Saul) as Jeff, Marvin Jones III (Halo) as Chester, Michael Xavier (Wild Cards) as Terry, and Dominic Burgess (Palm Royale) as Delron,

In addition, Garrett Hedlund (Tulsa King), Chris Diamantopoulos (The Boys in the Boat), Lawrence Kao (Walker: Independence), Kyle Bradley Davis (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Aina Brei'yon (Dark Matter), Robert Lee Hart (Chicago PD), Katie Stevens (The Bold Type), and John Pyper-Ferguson (Suits) and also star.

Both Brubaker & Phillips are set to executive produce, with Brubaker penning the pilot script and serving as co-showrunner – alongside acclaimed crime fiction author Jordan Harper (Hightown, Gotham, The Mentalist). In addition, writer-directors Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel, Masters of the Air) have been tapped to direct the first four episodes and executive-produce.

FX Networks & Ryan Murphy's "The Beauty"

Originally published in 2015, here's a look at the official overview: "Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease? In the world of 'The Beauty,' physical perfection is attainable. The vast majority of the population has taken advantage of it, but Detectives Foster and Vaughn will soon discover it comes at a terrible price." The upcoming adaptation stars Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, Ashton Kutcher, Rebecca Hall, and Isabella Rossellini.

Back in October 2024, Murphy shared how the story connects with a number of previous and current shows in terms of themes, focuses, and questions asked. "I've always written about beauty culture in my work from my very first big thing, which was 'Nip/Tuck.' I've also done a lot of body horror in my work, mostly through 'American Horror Story.' I just think that it asks that deep, essential question that I always like to ask about anything: What would you do for love? What would you do for beauty? What would you do for money? It has all of those things that I've grappled with in my entire career, all in one package," Murphy shared about The Beauty.

In terms of the overall scope of the show, Murphy previously compared it to Game of Thrones. While that still remains to be seen, Murphy makes it clear that it's his biggest undertaking yet. "I've never done anything this big. I've never done anything international except for [2010 film] 'Eat Pray Love,'" he explained. "I'm casting all the other female parts now, but we're going all over the world next year to make it. It's a very long shoot. It's a big shoot, and it's fun. I just think it's that phrase, 'may you live in interesting times.' I think that applies to 'Grotesquerie.' It applies to 'The Beauty.' I'm trying to work out how I feel about all these times."

Produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television, the FX series will be executive-produced by Murphy, Hodgson, Peters, Ramos, Pope, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich, and Eric Gitter.

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