NBC has released a new trailer and poster for their upcoming Oz-themed dramaEmerald City, which is set to debut Friday, January 6, at 9 PM ET with a two-hourseries premiere. The network handed out a straight-to-series order for the show, a surprising turn-around after the network didn’t originally move ahead with the series. The pilot was originally written byMatthew ArnoldandJosh Friedmanin 2014.David Schulner(Do No Harm) reworked the script, resulting in a 10-episode straight to series order back in April 2015. Here’s the original plot rundown for the first version of this series, from a 2014 NBC press release.
“Desperate for clues that will lead to the identity of her biological mother, a young woman breaks into a sinister underground facility somewhere in the Midwest. Unable to complete her mission and surrounded by security, our feisty heroine steals a K9 police dog and drives away into the night… and headlong into the path of araging tornado. In the blink of an eye, she is transported to another world, one far removed from our own - a mystical land of competing kingdoms, lethal warriors, dark magic and a bloody battle for supremacy. This is the fabled Land of Oz in a way you’ve never seen before, where wicked witches don’t stay dead for long and 20-year-old Dorothy Gale becomes a headstrong warrior who holds the fate of kingdoms in her hands. You’re not in Kansas anymore, and this is not your Grandmother’s Oz.”
The new plot outline below doesn’t mention Dorothy’s quest for her biological mother, but many elements are in place. Swept up into the eye of a tornado, 20-year-old Dorothy Gale (Adria Arjona) and a K9 police dog is transported to another world - a mystical land in great peril, where an all-powerful wizard has forbidden magic and rules over many kingdoms. This is the fabledLand of Ozin a way you’ve never seen it before, where lethal warriors roam, wicked witches plot in the shadows and a young girl from Kansas becomes a headstrong heroine who holds the fate of their world in her hands. This mystical land of competing realms, lethal warriors, dark magic will become engulfed in a bloody battle for supremacy.
StarringVincent D’Onofrio(Daredevil,Jurassic World) as the guileful Wizard and directed by the visionaryTarsem Singhacross three European countries, this is Oz completely reimagined - a place where familiar characters show up in fresh, unexpected ways, and where an unsuspecting young woman holds the fate of kingdoms in her hands. As Dorothy navigates this dangerous world and uncovers her true destiny, we’ll see there’s no place like… Oz. The series will be preceded by NBC’s Friday night hitGrimm, which kicks off its sixth and final season on Friday, January 6 at 8 PM ET.
The cast also includesAna Ularu,Oliver Jackson-Cohen,Jordan Loughran,Gerran Howell,Mido Hamada,Joely Richardson,Isabel Lucas,Stefanie Martini,Suan-Li Ong,Florence KasumbaandRoxy Sternberg.David SchulnerandShaun Cassidyare writers and executive producers.Josh Friedman,Matthew Arnoldand directorTarsem Singhalso executive produce.Emerald Cityis produced by Universal Television. Take a look at the new trailer and poster below forEmerald City.
