Netflix @ TCA: Stranger Things Delayed, Gilmore Girls Renewal Status & More!

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It was Netflix's turn to take the stage at the Television Critics Assoc. summer press tour on Sunday, and the company offered updates on multiple series. 

The biggest of which involves the status of Stranger Things. 

Stranger Things Season 3 may have been confirmed by Netflix a while back, but there's a long wait in store for fans of the sci-fi drama. 

Bitchin' - Stranger Things

Netflix’s VP or original content, Cindy Holland, addressed reporters at the event and confirmed that it would return to the streaming service in summer 2019. 

“It’s a handcrafted show. [Exec producers] The Duffer brothers and Shawn Levy have worked really hard, and they understand the stakes are high," Holland said.

"They want to deliver something bigger and better than what they did last year. And so they really want to take the time to get it right.”

ST 2

While it's tough waiting such a long time between seasons, the writing has been on the wall for a while, a recent teaser for the show which showed off Starcourt Mall and it said that the mall would be opening next summer. 

Meanwhile, the streamer confirmed that there are no plans currently in place for a second revival of Gilmore Girls which returned after a nine-year break in 2016 for four movies. 

Related: Stranger Things: Delayed to Summer 2019?

“We haven’t discussed it at all,” Holland confirmed to reporters. “But [series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino] knows that we are very big fans of Gilmore Girls.”

gg a year in life

The reaction to the revived series was mixed, and creator Sherman-Palladino is busy with her Amazon series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel which secured 14 Emmy nominations. 

At least fans know a new series could become a reality if the stars aligned and the cast and crew were available to work on it. It's difficult to bring everyone back for a series that's been off the air for so long. 

Another show whose future is undetermined is Arrested Development, which recently returned for Season 5, the second season on Netflix. 

Leading lady Jessica Walters confirmed in a New York Times story earlier this year that Jeffrey Tambor had verbally harassed her on the set of the series. 

Jeffrey Tambor Attends Awards Show

It paved the way for some of the cast members to defend Tambor, but Netflix opted to cancel all Season 5 press activities putting the fate of the series up in the air. 

“I actually don’t know if [Season 6] is a possibility or not,” Holland shared of the show's future. “We haven’t discussed it at all.”

That's not entirely promising!

Related: Shonda Rhimes Reveals Netflix Slate 

Also, Octavia Spencer has been cast on Madam C.J. Walker, a limited series based on the book On Her Own Ground by A’Lelia Bundles.

It will the “untold and highly irreverent story” of how Madam C.J. Walker “overcame hostile, turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and… trifling family to become America’s first black, self-made female millionaire,” per the official logline.

Octavia Spencer Pic

As for cancellations, Holland went on to speak about Everything Sucks! which was canceled after one season despite fans being vocal on social media for the series to continue. 

Ultimately, it sounds like the issue was with the number of people actually watching the series. 

"It had a passionate and good audience coming in, but what we were finding is that there were far fewer people than average who were completing the season," she explained, adding that "the audience size really just wasn't there."

The show was a hit with critics and is still widely talked about across various TV news outlets, so it was one of the more surprising cancelations.

 
Shadowhunters Poster

Then there are revivals. Netflix has been known to swoop in and save the day at times when series have been canceled by a TV network. 

The most recent of which was Lucifer which was picked up for a fourth season after Fox swung the ax in May. 

Related: Shadowhunters Canceled at Freeform

She admitted that Shadowhunters fans have been flooding her email about bringing the show back after Netflix was blamed for the cancelation. 

"I probably get 100 emails a day or more personally" she shared. 

NBC's Timeless has a similarly vocal fanbase who even raised money to fly a helicopter over San Diego Comic-Con with banners asking networks to save the series. 

Fifties Fashion - Timeless Season 2 Episode 2

However, it sounds like there's no chance the show will be saved. 

'To be honest, I'm not aware of any real conversations about Timeless," she said.

Okay, TV Fanatics!

What are your thoughts on all of this Netflix news?

Hit the comments below!

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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Netflix Quotes

The Darkling: Perhaps. But you have given me one. A chance to make amends, to finally win. The Fold was not your mistake --
Alina: The Fold was no mistake!
The Darkling: I never intended for it to be the blight it's become. Or for men like the King or Zlatan to exploit it for their own gain.
Alina: You put this collar on me to exploit my power for your gain!
The Darkling: For us. To help us conquer the Fold together. You and me. You cannot do this on your own. And neither can I.
Alina: We could've had this. All of it. You could've made me your equal. Instead, you made me this. You don't care who suffers, as long as you win.
The Darkling: Fine. Make me your villain.

What I haven't said in this letter, Mal, what I've been trying to write among all these scattered words is, is that I'm afraid. I'm scared, Mal. We grew up reading about a Saint who would one day perform a miracle of light and solve our country's problems, and we knew that was a lie. We knew that no stranger ever solved our problems for us. No great miracle was coming. That's why we had each other. The world is hard and cruel, but we had each other, and that was enough. That was everything. If Saints were once real, they've long since left us. Yet now, everyone is looking at me like I'm the answer. Like I'm the miracle the world has been waiting for. Or perhaps they know I'm a fraud, an imposter. I'm terrified. Of failure or success. If I really do have this power, who am I? I would be everything we mocked and dismissed. A stranger to myself. And to you. You once told me you were the most scared when you were lost. But getting lost can happen even when you know where you are. You told me about cardinal north and true north. Cardinal north is a direction on a map. True north? True north is home. It is where you feel safe and loved. You have always been my true north, Mal. And if I am to survive this, I need to be home again, with you.

Alina