After the usual Marvel logo at the start of Disney ’s “Wonder Man,” there’s also a logo for Marvel Spotlight, which is basically the indie version of Marvel — stories that are more grounded and character-driven and that don’t require knowledge of Marvel Cinematic Universe story arcs. The banner first showed up in 2024 on Disney ’s “Echo.”
“Wonder Man” has some interesting moments — and one stand-out tangent episode, the fourth of eight — but it’s often a slow burn. All episodes, which run around 30 minutes each, begin streaming at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Aspiring Hollywood star Simon Williams (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Watchmen”) overthinks his small role on “American Horror Story,” throwing his nascent career into a nosedive until a seemingly chance meeting with actor Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). Through Trevor, Simon learns a legendary director (Zlatko Burić) is remaking his favorite childhood superhero film, “Wonder Man.” Both Simon and Trevor audition for roles in the reboot but Simon harbors a secret that may doom his Hollywood ambitions.
Trevor has appeared in past MCU projects (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Iron Man 3”), but “Wonder Man” stands on it own, although fans who know the character may have a better grasp on Trevor’s background.
For Marvel, “Wonder Man” is a slight story with limited action sequences and at times feels too subtle for its own good. But credit Marvel with taking a risk and trying something different that often succeeds. The emphasis is on the characters, their histories and relationships with some comedic interludes. The humorous touch is evident in the fourth episode, guest-starring Josh Gad (a 2003 Carnegie Mellon University grad) as a fictional version of himself.
There are challenges with trying to do something like Marvel Spotlight: Is there an audience for it? Or do Marvel fans mostly want the big blow-‘em-up stories rather than intimate character pieces like “Wonder Man”?
In a Zoom interview last week, head writer Andrew Guest (“Community,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Hawkeye”) acknowledged it was a tricky needle to thread.
“People wanted to do something different, that felt different, and one of the things we really made sure of was trying to do a show that required no homework, that whether you’re a fan of the MCU or someone whose never felt like they should be a fan of the MCU, you might be able to relate or care about Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery in this particular show, and not feel alienated,” Guest said. “We tried to give you a grounded world to enter into slowly, and there is some connective tissue [to the MCU], but not a ton.”
Guest said he initially intended “Wonder Man” to have more comedy.
“The first draft of this pilot had a little bit more in common with a ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ or a ‘Community’ script, and had what we might call in the business, ‘harder jokes,’ ” Guest explained. “As we got on set and as we had conversations with Yaya and Sir Ben, certain things didn’t quite feel right anymore, and so we tried to have a sensibility that the show didn’t take itself too seriously. There’s humor, but it’s not the kind of jokey humor you might find on a more traditional sitcom.”
Regarding the tangential but creatively successful fourth episode, Guest credits his “Community” background for giving him the confidence to fight to keep the episode in the series.
“Coming up in the ‘Community’ writers’ room, we were given a lot of creative freedom, and took a lot of risks. … We’d go in tangents, just stylistically, that [‘Community’ creator] Dan [Harmon] was so excited about,” Guest said. “If there was a way to earn one of these kinds of episodes in a show like this, it was really exciting and it was a hard sell. There were times when [Marvel executive producers] Kevin [Feige] and Lou [D’Esposito] would be like, ‘But what are Simon and Trevor doing this week?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but we’ll get back to them,’ and hopefully we timed that episode in the right place where we’ve got you on the hook enough with Simon and Trevor that you’re going to stick around, even though this episode is starting in this random place with some people you’ve never met. … Hopefully the ending of that episode will feel impactful when we come back to Simon and realize what the ramifications [revealed in the episode] are for him and his career.”
(Regarding that long-gestating “Community” movie, for which Guest is an executive producer, he said the challenge is finding a time producers can corral the whole cast to film it. So far, the timing has not worked out.)
“Wonder Man” ends in a way that suggests there could be additional seasons.
“When we were looking at our finale, we wanted to make sure the story felt complete, but had room so it wasn’t a closed, tied-off ending,” Guest said, “that hopefully there’s some potential for more story to be told.”
Kept/canceled
Last week CBS renewed 10 series — in addition to four already renewed and two new shows ordered — so at this point its entire current lineup has been renewed except for on-the-bubble “Watson,” country music competition series “The Road” and freshman comedy “DMV.”
Hulu renewed Canadian hockey comedy “Shoresy” for a sixth season to air in 2027, with the fifth season debuting Feb. 21.
Amazon Prime Video renewed its “Legally Blonde” prequel series, “Elle,” for a second season ahead of its July 1 first season premiere.
Netflix canceled “The Abandons” after a single season, as expected. Netflix’s “Vince Staples Show” is done after two seasons.
Channel surfing
NBC’s Wednesday night “Chicago” shows will collide in a crossover event, 8-11 p.m. March 4. … Judge Prue Leith, 86, announced she’s leaving Netflix’s “The Great British Baking Show.” She’ll be replaced by Nigella Lawson. … On Feb. 2 cable’s TCM (Turner Classic Movies) will become the home to 750 Looney Tunes cartoons and feature films in a new six-year deal, per The Hollywood Reporter.