The long-awaited Halo TV show will officially be released on Paramount+, the new streaming service launching March 4. Based on the immensely popular video game series made for the Xbox, Halo stars Pablo Schreiber (American Gods, Orange is the New Black) as the legendary character Master Chief. Filming on the show began in 2020, but it was interrupted and delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Halo TV show will also star the original voice actress for Cortana, Jen Taylor, as the beloved AI.
Production is back in full swing in Budapest now that COVID safety protocols have been established, something confirmed by a social media post from Shreiber showing off Master Chief's live-action design. But there's been little news since then and fans have long been awaiting any word on Halo's potential release date. Originally it was due to debut on Showtime in early 2021, but the production delay meant that date wouldn't be met. But at today's ViacomCBS Investor Day, official news about its release platform and date will be announced.
Deadline reports that Halo will air exclusively on ViacomCBS' new streaming service Paramount+ some time in the first quarter of 2022. The decision was made, according to David Nevins, Chief Creative Officer, CBS & Chairman and CEO, Showtime Networks to ensure that Paramount+ has a defining show outside of the Star Trek universe. He adds that the decision was always on the cards, but after seeing early footage from Halo, the decision was made to move it across to Paramount+. He adds that it's a "premium-pay show," meaning it will be available only on the paid streaming service offering. You can read his full comments on the decision below:
It delivers the visceral excitement of playing the game, along with a much deeper emotional experience around the Spartans, human beings who got their humanity chemically and genetically altered. The story is about reclaiming what makes them human, and therefore it’s a very powerful story. We were on the hunt for signature shows beyond the Star Trek franchise on CBS All Access and were thinking, what could be a defining series for Paramount+. Halo always fit the bill but seeing it, we felt it would work. It could be a defining show for a newish service that’s got all firepower of an entertainment corporation behind it. [Halo was produced] with an eye toward expanding the palette at Showtime to four-quadrant shows, [but] we all felt that Halo is a broad-pay and premium-pay show.
The news is big for fans of the long-running video game series, as it finally provides a firm release plan for the show. Whether it turns out to be a faithful adaptation or not, and that is up for debate, there's no doubt the potential audience for Halo is big, and so it's a big statement of intent from ViacomCBS to make it the "defining series" of its new streaming service. Whether the show can live up to that promise, though, remains the big question.
There's no doubt that Halo has had a troubled journey to the screen, with a cancelled film over a decade ago, leading to a TV series that was stuck in pre-production limbo for years. Then, the first cast photo, released almost 16 months ago now, saw things looking up, but COVID meant further delays. Finally, though, there is a release date in sight, and video game fans will look to get their Paramount+ subscriptions in time for its release next year.
Source: Deadline