J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof ready new sci-fi shows

Way back in 2004, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof served as two of the creators of Lost, an ABC show about a bunch of strangers stranded on an island that ended up being one of the most talked-about genre series of the 2000s (and then the ending came and divided people but we’ll blast that bit for now). Years later, both Abrams and Lindelof are powerful producers in Hollywood, and each has a new twisty show idea to share with the world.

First up, Abrams updated Collider about the state of Demimonde, a sci-fi series he’s been prepping for HBO for a while now. Apparently, the pandemic has allowed himself and the other writers not only to outline the first season, but to write the whole thing. “One of the remarkable and unexpected benefits of this otherwise trying and in many cases painful time has been that the projects that we’ve been working on have been allowed to gestate and simmer,” he said. “The writing has been able to happen without that more typical urgency of pre-production and production.”

Although the details aren’t fleshed out, Demimonde is about a family that gets into a horrible car crash. The mother, a scientist, falls into a coma. While she’s out, the girls young daughter pokes around her experiments and gets “transported to another world amid a battle against a monstrous, oppressive force,” per The Hollywood Reporter. The father follows after her, and several seasons of TV magic hopefully ensue. Although Abrams has been very busy as a producer in recent years, Demimonde will be the first show he has a hand in writing since 2008’s Fringe.

J.J. Abrams has a new sci-fi show for HBO, Damon Lindelof has one for Peacock

Next, Linelof is teaming with The Big Bang Theory veteran Tara Hernandez on Mrs. Davis, a new show for Peacock. We know even less about this one than Demimonde, although Warner Bros. Television CEO Channing Dungey described it as having “one of the most innovative, undeniable concepts imaginable.” Meanwhile, fellow exec Susan Rovner reminded us all of Lindelof’s impressive credentials. “From Lost to The Leftovers to Watchmen, Damon’s work is synonymous with content and storytelling that doesn’t just break through the clutter, but also storms onto the scene and demands that you watch or risk being left out.”

As for the show itself, all we have is Peacock’s vague statement: “Peacock can confirm that the series is an exploration of faith versus technology — an epic battle of biblical and binary proportions.” Like Demimonde, the show has been ordered straight to series for an initial order of 10 episodes.

We don’t know when either of these series will premiere. Although they’re not in competition with each other, let’s see if we can get a “Which Lost guy has the better idea?” narrative going anyway.

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