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.
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*cries* it was my fav show!! I went from the show to the books and loved everything!! WHY WHY WHY!!!!!!
Another discovered the Books thru the series. I alway tell folk to see the movie first then read the book. I enjoyed the series, wish it was continuing, but I can also see what the purist object to. (Personally I alway see someone with the physical build of Jimmy Steward as Harry when I read the books.
I have devoured all the Dresden books in paperback (hardb bounds don’t fit on my bookselves) and have taken up duel citizenship in Alera.
Keep writing Jim. I love the creativity of your mind.
What can I say that everyone else hasn’t. The books are fantastic! The show was great! It was one thing that my wife and I could actually agree on when it came to television viewing. TDF was my candle in the darkness that is HGTV. Oh yes, I almost forgot, SciFi Channel has become a joke, and man did they drop the ball on this one. Thanks alot fellas. 🙁
To learn that Dresden files has been cancelled is very sad to me. This was one of the few shows I actually looked forward to this fall. How is it so many bad or mediocre shows will make it to tv again and something so well done on all levels will not. Again, the people in charge can’t seem to make choices between what is good and what isn’t.
I too, am sad that the show has been cancelled! I was diggin’ it! I will continue to be a faithful reader of both the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera! Keep up the great work Jim!!
xoxo Angel
Thanks for the confirmation. We have been watching the re-runs awaiting news. As well as being a great TV adaptation of one of my favourite characters, it was also the only time our
whole family… kids and all… would get together.
I have the DVD’s already. They will go up on the shelf beside Firefly…
Perhaps we will see another incarnation sometime.
But they’re bringing on this crap “Flash Gordon” show?
*sigh* Ah well. It was fun. I wish I got a chance to see where it was going. Honestly, though, it started weak, and rather confused.
I don’t have cabletv or satellite service, so I only had the chance to see the premiere episode by hijacking my nephew’s tv.
As someone noted above, the series started out (very, IMO) weak. It was so ho-hum that I wasn’t going to drive 20 minutes and hijack the tv to keep watching it. Just recently though, I had the chance to do a series-on-dvd marathon, which inspired a couple’r three observations:
The writers seemed to be trying too hard to make the series a separate creature from the series of books. Rather like using the books as a jumping-off point to take the (tv) series (and characters) where ever they felt like. I understand that any book-to-film adaptation has to make compromises, but in the first few episodes the tv-Harry felt nothing like the book-Harry (no insult to Paul Blackthorne – I think he did quite well.)
As the series progressed, I began to recognize storylines that had appeared in the books, and those episodes were better and better. I say that, not as a purist of the books’ storylines, but as someone who works at ‘a major national video rental chain’ and watches a buttload of commercial entertainment fare. My personal standards for ‘quality’ are, basically, “There’s two hours of my life I won’t get back.”, “It didn’t suck.”, “It was good, but I’m glad I didn’t pay theatre ticket prices for it.”, “Very good, if you like that sort of thing.”, “It rocks, hard.”, and “Buy it, now.” By the last two or three episodes, I was already aware that I would soon run out of Dresden.
I’m giving the box-set (if it were to happen) a qualified ‘Buy it’ recommendation, depending on price, with a ‘first half is kinda weak’ caveat. Not bad, per se, but not appointment tv, either. If the entire series were as good as the second half, I’d be after it harder than a high-school junior looking for their second orgasm.
A few quibbles, though –
Teenaged Harry would maybe have used drum and hockey sticks, for adult Harry to use them is just hockey. Harry is unapologetically a Wizard, not some kid playing pretend.
Harry is always flirting with dead-broke, he lives in a basement, not a 4,000 square foot townhouse filled with more crap than the Smithsonian.
A Jeep??!?!?!?!?!! (At least it was WWI era.) There was a late-series nod to the blue Beetle. It was up on a lift, and it was (sky) blue with airbrushed trim around all the seams. But it wasn’t all banged-up with different color body panels. It was shiny.
As for resurrecting the series, it’ll take a lot of noise from the fans. My feeling is that right now only independent filmmakers are in it to tell a story. Studios and distributors primary interest is about payday.
My boyfriend begged me to watch the series on SciFi, I think it was ep.2 -I was less than impressed; as many have said before, it was weak. But I kept watching and it got better. I always watch tv with a laptop, so I was thrilled to google dresden and discover the books.
At the time we were planning our vacation to Jamaica and boyfriend ordered the books from Amazon. We planned a do-absolutely-nothing vacation -eat, drink swim and read, so we only took the first 2 books and were finished by mid week… regretted not taking all. We snorkeled, drank and talked about the books. It was really nice, my boyfriend usually spends 4-5 hours gaming nightly, now we actually read together.
So keep writing and I’m sorry you won’t get the well-deserved royalties from future tv but it was the writer’s fault -they should have stuck to your books! They certainly had at least ten years of episodes… each book has several.
Movie is a very good idea if Jim Butcher does the screenplay!
I found Harry ,and by extension, Jim Butcher, through The Dresden Files on SciFi. Fell in love with both the series and the books. My girls and I have acquired and read all The Dresden books, and my youngest and I have read the Alera series books.
I am totally miffed at SciFi. First they dump Farscape, then Stargate SG-1(my personal favorite), then TPTB obliterate The Dresden Files after one season. Just when it was hitting its stride…. Hate SciFi and the drivel they are currently producing( Painkiller Jane and Flash Gordon–and wrestling?!).
Keep writing, Jim, and we will keep reading. (Maybe a movie of HD?)
I discovered Dresden before the TV show came out. And as much as I enjoyed the 12 eps we did get, I do feel in all honesty that it didn’t do Jim’s work full justice. Keep up the great work Jim…. we really love it!
I’m one of the “Discovered the books thru the TV show”s as well. And at first I wasn’t even that interested. Thank God I tivoed it to give it a chance.
Even thou I am saddened by the lose of another great show I can say I’m surprised. It was too original and quirky for the typical “feed me standard pap” audience.
And now Sci Fi channel joins Fox in that heady realm, that Celestial high of . . . if the CEO can’t figure it out, it can’t be that good and what do those peons on the Web know” Club.
Space: Above and Beyond, better than any Star Drek, but the heroes didn’t talk, they fought, so cancelled.
Firefly, my God, the actually Wagon Train in the stars that Roddenberry spouted about. Cancelled.
Strange Luck, strange but good show. Cancelled.
But lets look at what we are being offered now, Kid Nation, Dancing shows, Temptation Islands, makeover house, kid, lawn, or the dog shows, Survivor. . . who knows where now…Boise?
And oh yes, that seminal work of genius…suburban cavemen . . . is suicide still considered a mortal sin? Cuase I gotta be honest with you, given the choice between the new fall line up and Eternal Damnation . . . I’m not really seeing the difference. Well I’m sure whatever else they inflict opn us this season, there will be enough big fake boobs (as seen on a very special Flip this Torso) to make even Bob a happy air spirit.
All I can say is Jim, thank you for writting a great series of books. In fact, a friend of mine said he was a fan of the show, I told him all about your books and I know you’ll have another fan.
R.I.P The Dresden Files TV Series
I’ll be sad its gone. Although i was first a fan of the books i thought the show had potential. My friend and i thought the characters, though not exact, were dead on personaility wise.
We’ll be sad to see it go.
Long live DF TV.
R.I.P The Dresden Files TV Series
I’ll be sad its gone. Although i was first a fan of the books i thought the show had potential. My friend and i thought the characters, though not exact, were dead on personaility wise.
We’ll be sad to see it go.
Long live DF TV.
I lost my cable TV right about the time the show premiered. So I didn’t see them, but when the DVD came out I thought what the heck, and bought it. I wasnt thrilled with the first couple of episodes but stuck with it. By the second disc I was in love and finished the rest with a day! After watching them I went online to find out the show was no more, so I wrote SciFi and told them were to stick it, then I found out about the books and I’ve ordered the first two from Amazon. I haven’t read them yet but I read the first chapter here on the site and can’t wait till the books get here. I like the characters and find them very original. I hope that another network espresses interest in picking up the show!I love the show and I’m sure I’ll love the books!
I have been waiting all summer to see if the show would be renewed and now to find out that Sci-Fi has cancelled the show only to bring in something like Flash Gorden…really ticks me off. I am getting so tired of the networks introduceing a show only to pull it if the numbers are not there in the first few episodes. I’m sure that if the show had been given a chance to come back the numbers would have been alot higher and the show would have only gotten better. I will really miss not getting a chance to see how the show could have played out; but at least I still have the books. Who knows maybe we will get lucky and another network will give Dresden another chance.
wow. That sucks.
’nuff said.
I saw this Dvd in the Blockbuster store, and it look interesting, so I rented it. Started watching and got hook. I just got done watching 12 episode and got on the internet to find out when second season started, very displeased, to find out it was cancel. Its hard to9 find Tv series today very interesting, than some show with complete sex and drugs. Maybe, if this show was release on regular Tv it might have done better, I’m not a sci-fi wathcer so I was aware of it. Hopefully it will come back..
And last is there last show finale and can you rent it.
NOOOOOOOOOO! I can’t believe they aren’t going to give us more eps of Dresden and we have to suffer through the travesty they’ve made of Flash Gordon! WHAT ARE THEY THINKING!?
wow.. Dresden Files was the only show I gave a damn about and then they cancel it.. I guess it wasnt over the top cheesy enough for them.. Maybe you should’ve introduced some characters with a forehead shaped like an anus or something… 😛
Sci-Fi can officially lick ’em!