It almost seems as though the mandate at DC and Warner Bros TV is to throw everything possible at television this year, and see what sticks. They already have returning favorite ‘Arrow,’ spin-off ‘The Flash,’ and newbies ‘Gotham’ and ‘Constantine’ airing this fall, but within the last few weeks there’s also the ‘Teen Titans’ show being negotiated with TNT, a ‘Supergirl’ show coming, rumors of another attempt at ‘Wonder Woman,’ and now a show based on the DC/Vertigo Comics ‘Sandman’ world starring the elusive Prince of Darkness himself, Lucifer.
The ‘Sandman’ version of Lucifer was inspired by John Milton’s depiction of the fallen angel in ‘Paradise Lost,’ who was eventually spun-off from ‘Sandman’ and given his own Vertigo comic simply titled ‘Lucifer.’ Before spinning off, Lucifer was seen in his original role as the ruler of Hell, but in a storyline titled ‘Seasons of Mist,’ the character Morpheus travels to Hell to rescue a woman he had trapped there hundreds of years earlier, and finds a changed Lucifer. He helps Morpheus and presents him with the key to Hell, letting Morpheus choose its new ruler as he abandons his post. According to Deadline, the show description would follow that character history fairly closely:
“…the TV series, written and executive produced by Kapinos, centers on Lucifer who, bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, resigns his throne and abandons his kingdom for the gorgeous, shimmering insanity of Los Angeles, where he opens an exclusive piano bar called Lux.”
The Kapinos mentioned here is none other than ‘Californication’ creator/executive producer Tom Kapinos, who recently wrapped up that series’ 7-year run on Showtime. Which kind of fits, if you think about it. And it seems FOX has enough faith in the show and the executive producer that the show has been given a “put pilot commitment,” meaning that the network has to air the pilot, or incur a serious financial penalty.
Do you think there is room on the small screen for another DC comic book series? Let us know in the comments below.