WIRE Buzz: Marvel fires Tigra & Dazzler Show writers mid-production; Game of Thrones, Watchmen top AFI list; more

Hulu might not be the answer to Netflix that Marvel had hoped. Even if Disney controls Hulu and owns Marvel, creative differences might still hamper the comic juggernaut’s attempts to bring their characters to the small screen.

That’s what happened when, according to The Hollywood Reporter, all of the writing staff (including showrunner Erica Rivinoja) were fired from the upcoming animated Tigra & Dazzler Show midway through its production. The show — which was greenlit alongside M.O.D.O.K., Hit-Monkey, and Howard the Duck — hoped to be the third of the four comedies known as The Offenders. The planned special is still on track since it would be the first time the shows crossed over, but that's all that's the same.

Now, with an empty writers room “15 weeks into a planned 20-week production cycle” and with many completed scripts and outlines reportedly abandoned, Tigra & Dazzler Show is being reimagined.

Marvel will hire a new showrunner, THR reports, that will build a new team of writers in order to get a fresh take on the show. Chelsea Handler, attached in a voice and executive producer role, is still on board despite the rest of the creative rehaul.

No word on when production may pick up again on Tigra & Dazzler Show.

Next, as critics awards begin kicking off Oscar season, it’s worth noting that the awards for genre television are also picking up speed — even if their destination isn’t until the tail end of 2020. Some of those shows already gathering speed for the next year of awards junkets come thanks to the AFI.

According to a release, the American Film Institute has released its top ten lists. Rather than conventional awards, the Institute releases an alphabetized top ten for both film and TV, though TV is where genre (and HBO) had its biggest wins. Counting two of the ten slots were Watchmen and Game of Thrones, the former before its first season has even ended and the latter after completely capping the series. Both come from HBO. 

This is the first big awards attention Watchmen has earned, primarily because of its airdate — the show will air its final episode of the season on Dec. 15, cutting it close for many awards bodies. Of the AFI’s top ten films of the year, the single genre standout was Joker — boding well for the R-rated DC comic film’s future on the awards circuit. Joaquin Phoenix's performance and the film at large were hits at both the box office and with critics.

The winners will be honored at the AFI Awards lunch on Jan. 3, 2020.

Finally, The CW's Archieverse is crossing over. Riverdale and Katy Keene will air a crossover episode next year, documenting the New York hangout between Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Katy (Lucy Hale).

According to E! News, this will take place ahead of the upcoming show's premiere and set-up Katy's move — all through the guise of a college interview and shopping spree for Veronica.

"Before Katy Keene officially premieres, we all thought it would be super-fun to do a crossover that took Veronica to Katy's world — New York City — and established Katy in the Riverdale universe," said executive producers Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Michael Grassi. "For our first Riverdale/Katy crossover, we couldn't be more excited that it's old friends Veronica and Katy — Cami and Lucy — having fun and heart-to-hearts!"

Katy Keene hops forward five years in the Riverdale timeline, so fans shouldn't expect any more crossovers between the series in the future, but the back-door pilot will help introduce the world of Katy, Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), Jorge Lopez/Ginger (Jonny Beauchamp), and Pepper Smith (Julia Chan).

The Riverdale episode airs Feb. 5, one day before Katy Keene debuts her own show.