We finally have our answer, and it’s just as we suspected: the Dresden Files TV show has been canceled. Read more about the decision at TV Guide.com.
While we wish SciFi could have decided differently, we’re still grateful for the twelve great episodes that aired earlier this year. Largely thanks to the TV show, book sales tripled, and no doubt more new fans will continue to discover the series through reruns and the DVDs. Speaking of which, the DVDs will be released this Tuesday! Buy them here on Amazon.com.
Additionally, fans of Paul Blackthorne will be cheered to learn that he has joined the cast of ABC’s Big Shots.
Discuss this story on the forums here.
Addendum, 2014: This show was canceled in 2007. There’s no bringing it back. The rights have reverted to Jim.
Author: priscellie
Priscilla Spencer has been Jim's creative consultant since 2007. In addition to managing content for Jim-Butcher.com and its social media channels, she beta-reads all of Jim's works, serves as a thematic consultant on the graphic novels and role playing games, and illustrates the maps for his books. The whole "Year of Dresden" thing is largely her baby. Her latest claim to fame is directing the official book trailers for Peace Talks and Battle Ground.
In her professional life, Priscilla is a Producer, Writer, Photographer, and Fantasy Map Illustrator working towards a career in producing TV. She enjoys musical theatre, gluten-free cooking, sci-fi/fantasy, and weightlifting. She aspires to travel the world and pet every dog.
View all posts by priscellie
While I do believe the books are much better (I’m a purist) and the series would be better as movies, the show was pretty good and had a lot of potential. Like the person earlier said, the show brought me to the books. So I have a certain place in my heart for the show. I have not fully given up on the show as some persistence might pay off in some manifestation like with Firefly and Jericho but I am angry at SciFi by not so much canceling the show (I am though) but by the manner in which they did: jerking us loyal fans around. Myself and others (especially fans on SciFi.com’s Dresden forum) will leave the channel in frustration over it decision and other factors like its poor choosing of shows *cough* Painkiller Jane and Wrestling *cough* (sorry to those who like the shows) and that the only other shows I enjoy on SciFi are Eureka and Doctor Who, which is on BBC. So, thankfully we still have the books until we reach number 23 or so (yeah!!!!) and Paul Blackthorne has landed on his feet and will undoubtedly do great throughout his career. Hey, maybe another channel will get the show, or maybe a movie? All up to Lionsgate now. Don’t forget to buy the DVD on August 7.
As many others have mentioned, I discovered the books from watching the series. I am also a member of a community of fans of all sorts of multimedia, and through that group, I’ve been checking periodically on the status of the show. For weeks, it said “pending/ on the bubble”…. and then tonight I saw that it said “canceled/ended”
what?!?!???
I would be more than happy to help push to get these entertaining stories back on the air.
Heh. Is anyone familiar with SlyLie surprised that they yanked the rug out from under TDF? So typical for them to sit on the news, too. I`d like to rant and beg but no point. I was a Cracker Campaigner for Farscape way back when. SlyLie is great for putting out a decent show and then killing it. Makes it hard to get invested in anything they do. Ah well, at least we had TDF briefly. I`m another book purist, but they did a good job with the little they got to do with the show. Would be better as movies, but it was a game effort. And as has been said, it brought more people to the books, so Huzzah! for that.
Like so many others I discovered the Jim Butcher Dresden books because of the TV series. They are such a joy to read that I went through all of them in a month. There is more than enough material to support the series for a long time.
It was so disappointing to get the offical word that The Dresden Files was cancelled.
I like the idea of movies instead of a series. It would give the actors and writers a better opportunity to explore the characters and the plots. It could become a franchise like Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
One look at the fall line up on many of the other networks should tell Sci-Fi that they have made a grave error.
Unfortunately the actors couldn’t sit around and wait for Sci-Fi to make up their minds. It is not surprising that Paul Blackthorne has already found a new job. The actor who played Morgan is now on Kyle XY. Even though he had a recurring role on The Dresden Files when I saw him in Kyle XY I knew there was little hope the show was going to have a second season.
I preordered the DVD’s and am anxiously waiting for their arrival. The increase in book sales and the DVD sales should have been a good indicator of how well the series would do. They (Sci-Fi executives) seem to have missed the point that there was no advertising for the books or the DVD’s. If they hadn’t been mentioned on the Sci-Fi Dresden Files forum I wouldn’t have know about them.
Talk to any CEO of a big business and they would tell you sales like that with no advertising is fantastic. Their first reaction would be to find out why sales went up. The conclusion is a simple one, the show was popular so people bought the books. The next step would be to figure out what other products they could develope based on the series and start a marketing campaign for them. In the meantime they would be pushing for more shows so more people would want to buy itmes related to it. NBC/Universal/Sci-Fi could have made a small fortune on tee-shirts, mugs, caps, posters, etc. Then there is always the potential for a game based on the characters.
I plan to watch Big Shots just because Paul Blackthorne is on it. Based on his performance in The Dresden Files he will be good in anything he does.
I apoligize for the long rant. It is just so frustrating to find a good show only to have it cancelled before it ever had a chance.
Like so many have said before THIS SUCKS!! I thought the Sci Fi channel might start to be good once again. It’s gotten worse. The “wrestling” is pathetic at best and I’m a wrestling fan! I still don’t understand what horror movies have to do with science fiction whatsoever. They are using old ideas as it is, reviving Battlestar and now Flash Gordon. An original idea to them was probably ECW on SciFi. Ironically, SciFi probably has just shot itself in the foot. Thanks to not reknewing The Dresden Files, they are sending us back to reading and not watching the muck on their channel. I just got the audio of the first book and plan to start on it immediately. There are very few great Sci Fi shows left and they aren’t on Sci Fi channel anymore. CW has them. Jim.. think of it this way… they did you a burn by cancelling before it could be more appreciated BUT they did you the biggest favor when they decided this because people are now going to want to find out about Dresden and what’s going on with him. So you will sell more books and he lives on stronger than ever with even more fans!! I never would have heard of him if it weren’t for them.
Questions?
Does SFC still control the rights to the show or does Lionsgate?
Can the show be shopped around?
Any chance for TV movies?
Do you want fans to mobilize and try to save the show? While the answer to the last question might seem obvious to some people, with cast members and crew moving on, Mr. Butcher, I’d think that you’d know better than anyone if a Save Dresden Files campaign would work.
okay that’s it, i am completely fed up with the SciFi channel. now that Dresden Files is cancelled and Stargate SG1 is over, i’m thru with SciFi… i tried to get into Painkiller Jane and the show is okay but not fantastic. everything else on SciFi is garbage and i seriously doubt i will ever watch that channel again unless they show Stargate or Dresden reruns…
I knew it would be cancelled. I absolutely LOVE the books, but the show sucked. The show strayed too far from the books. The episodes just didn’t have Jim’s flare. Paul Blackthorne made a great Harry, but the other main characters were nothing like Jim’s creations. No Mister, Blue Beetle, boarding house basement apartment, or McAnally’s. Major plot points (like Justin becoming Harry’s uncle – and alive) were severely altered. Did the writers even read the books? I was disgusted after the first few episodes and stopped watching.
love both your books and the show. It makes me sad that SiFi made this choice. Maybe some where down the road you can put this in a movie format and give Dresden the depth the books have. My hat off to you. Please bring us more.
I TOO AM FURIOUS ABOUT DRESDEN FILE CANCELLATION I LOVED THE CHARACTERS BEING BROUGHT EVEN IF IT WAS NOT EXACTLY TRUE TO THE NOVELS I DO NOT GET THE CONCEPT OF WRESTLING AS SCI FI
Like many other people, I found the books after I watched the show. In fact, I immediately bought the omnibus editions thru one of the bookclubs. 😀 Bought them initially for hubby, but darn I just had to read them first. I’m ticked that SciFi dropped this great show, but like everyone else, I also love the books. Is it time for the next one yet? lol
As far as the renewal, I think I would rather them go to full length movies more than anything else. To me, I think it really is the only way to really give the books any real depth on screen. 44 mins just wasn’t enough.
It completely sucks that it got cancelled. Pretty much done with sci-fi here too. Painkiller jane was n2bad, but I didn’t really get into it too much. But to take off good shows…and…put…on….wrestling? Are they on crack?
On the good side, the show did lead to me finding and enjoying the hell out of the books. Or rather the show led to the site, which lead to me reading the sample chapters, and going, jeez I need to buy these, and doing so :D.
On the bad side? Sci-Fi execs need a falcon punch directly to the crotch. Which of course is nothing new.
This sucks big time. I finally find a show I like and oops it’s gone. Any possibilities of another network picking it up?
Never heard of THE DRESDEN FILES until the TV series. I now LOVE & own all the books & will be picking up “the Complete Series” on Tuesday to go on my DRESDEN shelf. And soon I will be RPGing in the DRESDEN ‘verse too. Thanks for a great show & bringing me into the fold!!!!!!
I didn’t get to see all of the series, but I liked what I saw. I started reading the books because Charlaine Harris recomended them and I love them. I now have my Mom, my sister and a brother-in-law reading them.
As far as Sci-Fi….they do seem to cancel the shows I like best, (I’m still upset over Farscape) I think the best thing they have going at the moment is Eureka.
Looks like Im the only one here that is NOT disappointed that sci-fi has cancelled TDF. I really dont think that the 44 min shows were doing justice to the overall Dresden world of continuing plot lines and story arcs. I also think that the show was very light on action and use of magic overall, maybe due to cost maybe due to story changes. I have given the first Dresden files book to several people that had brought the show up to me. The overall comment that is made to me when they return the book is that Harry is such a wuss on the show and kicks major ass in the books! I dont think this was translated very well in the show. I think they should go the spawn/hell boy route with the Dresden files, doing an animated series or movies would make it much cheaper and I feel better able to tell the story.
It really is to bad they had to sack the show.. After listening to the Hour25 interview with Mr.Butcher I decided to pickup the DVDs to get me through the night shift. They were a bit 2d but entertaining. I loved the Bob character but thought that SciFi needed to give its’ audience a bit more credit with a more gritty/horrific feel.
Currently most of the way through the series and am on White Night now. The books are hugely entertaining and addictive.
Well, there goes our plan to upgrade our cable package to get the Sci-Fi channel in time for the season premiere so we didn’t have to trudge over to our friends’ house to watch it.
Does it seem strange (or, rather, not at all strange) to anyone else that SciFi waited until the Friday before the DVD comes out to release the news? Despite their decision, Harry & Co. will live on, not only in the books (9 down, 15 to go :-)) but on the screen. Lionsgate would have done better to have produced the show with USA or TNT; or to have released a series of major motion pictures. I hear that the motion picture route was their first option, but that they were dissuaded from taking it because some feared that it would be too similar to “Constantine”–a thought I am still baffled by. Either way, there’s just too much to Harry, Murph, Morgan and the rest of the characters in the Dresden universe that enlivens and awes the imagination for them and their wonderful adventures not to make it again to the screen, big or small, some time soon.
Jim, you’re the man. I won’t repeat many of the comments to keep your head up, take heart, etc.–anyone who can write a hero who overcomes so much in every minute of everyday has to made of the sternest stuff himself. I look forward to the all of the Dresden to come–books, t.v. episodes, movies, etc. :-). Excelsior!
I wish they hadn’t cancelled the series…but totally revamped it to make Harry Dresden like he really is in the book…if his character and surroundings would have been more like the book character the show would have lasted. People like heroes with flaws…and the TV Dresden didn’t have flaws like the book Harry does. Either way the books are amazing and I just can’t wait for the next edition to come out. I plan to have a whole shelf just of the Dresden Files. Keep the books coming Jim!