Marvel Television Consolidates, Sets Adult-Animation Block on Hulu

The great Marvel television consolidation continues, as Marvel and Disney take further steps to wrap up their current series and bring future shows into the fold. With the cancellation of The Punisher and Jessica Jones, Marvel is officially finished with their Netflix partnership (although thankfully we still have season three of Jessica Jones coming).

Following those cancellations, Marvel has also pulled the plug on FX’s trippy X-Men series Legion, which will end after its third season, which airs in June. FX CEO John Landgraf said, “Noah Hawley had always considered Legion to be a three-season show, and he has confirmed that he’s going to stick with his plan. This will be the final season.”

Fox’s The Gifted, which is also set in the X-Men universe, is unlikely to be renewed. It’s second season rating are 40% lower than its first, making it one of Fox’s lowest rated shows.

With the Disney-Fox merger bringing X-Men, Deadpool, and The Fantastic Four back into the Marvel fold, along with the upcoming launch of Disney’s streaming service Disney+, Marvel is looking to keep all of their television programming under one roof. But said roof is massive, including not only those two studios, but their subsidiaries like ABC and Hulu (in which Fox owns a 60% share).

That means that the shows most likely to live on a post-merger world are ABC’s Agents of SHIELD, which has already been renewed for a seventh season after the sixth season premiere in June, as well as Hulu’s Runaways. Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger, which is also part of the Disney family, is likely safe as well.

And while Disney+ will be making family-friendly fare like the upcoming Loki origin series, the Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson buddy show and the Vision and Scarlet Witch series, Hulu is prepping to pick up more adult-oriented programming.

Hulu and Marvel will be launching their own animated parody of The Defenders, with four new shows set for a crossover. The series focuses on four characters from the Marvel stable: MODOK, Hit-Monkey, Tigra & Dazzler and Howard the Duck.

Howard the Duck will be written and executive-produced by Kevin Smith and Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force). The description for the show reads, “Howard the Duck is trapped in a world he never made, but America’s favorite fighting fowl hopes to return home with the help of his unstoppable gal pal Beverly before the evil Dr. Bong can turn him the crispiest dish on the menu.”

Jordan Blum (American Dad!) and Patton Oswalt will helm M.O.D.O.K. , which “centers around an egomaniacal supervillain with a really big head and a really little body, who struggles to maintain control of his evil organization and his demanding family.”

Josh Gordon (Office Christmas Party) and Will Speck (Blades of Glory) are on board for Hit-Monkey, which “tells the tale of a wronged Japanese snow monkey, mentored by the ghost of an American assassin, as he cuts a wide swath through the Tokyo underworld in this darkly cinematic and brutally funny revenge saga.”

And finally, Tigra & Dazzler Show will follow “two woke superheroes and best friends, Tigra and Dazzler, as they fight for recognition among powered people who make up the eight million stories in Los Angeles.” The female-fronted series will be written and executive produced by Chelsea Handler and Erica Rivinoja (The Last Man on Earth).

All four series will come together in a crossover event titled The Offenders.

Are you excited for an adult animation block geared towards superheroes? Will you be watching these upcoming Marvel offerings?

(via The Hollywood Reporter, image: Marvel)

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