As the fate of “Almost Human” hangs in the balance, one of its two main stars, Karl Urban, says if the show doesn’t get picked up for a second season, he likely won't be returning to TV as a series regular.
Urban addressed fans at the Salt Lake Comic Con FanX this weekend, where he first expressed his gratefulness for the show. “I love working on ‘Almost Human’,” he told an excited crowd. “I love working with Michael Ealy and that crew. We literally had a lot of fun [in season one].”
But he also says working in television has proved to be tough for his family.
“Television is a different beast,” he says. “It’s hard work. We were working six days a week, sometimes 17 hours a day. I didn’t get to see my family – at all, in six months. So if ‘Almost Human’ doesn’t go ahead, I’d be more inclined to say, “You know what? I am going to go for balance in my life at this point. I’m going to go be with my family.”
Urban has built a successful movie career, acting in two "Lord of the Rings" installments, the "Star Trek" prequels (a third film is still to come), "The Chronicles of Riddick," "Red" and "Dredd." He also has two movies set for release later this year.
But it is possible Urban may yet have to deal with the grueling TV schedule. TV Wise reports the chance of "Almost Human" getting renewed is picking up steam as industry buzz around the show heats up.
The way this article is titled makes it seem like Karl Urban had a stuck up point of view towards television now.
ReplyDeleteGlad to heat its picking up steam,lord knows its been buzzing on twitter for the past two months.I'll gladly take 13!
ReplyDeleteIf FOX does renew it I hope the show ditches its procedural format for a more hybrid one like Fringe. It's entertaining but the episodic nature did NOT leave me impatient for the next episode and sometimes I'd wait two weeks before watching the next one.
ReplyDeleteI'd like see him acting in game of thrones.
ReplyDeleteHe has a lot of experience with fantasy worlds and almost human is a poor show for him.
Go to game of thrones " Eomer ".
I want a second season of Almost Human, it's such a cool show!
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't think it was *too* confusing. For the most part the only thing that was confusing was character's attitudes towards one another, I just rewatched it in order and it didn't change it to much for me. Not nearly as bad as rearranging Firefly. But if they actually have real plot threads next year FOX would most likely air them in order, you didn't see them doing that Sleepy Hollow. In fact they've never done it with any serialized show since Firefly. But yeah I agree with you, they still should have aired season 1 in order.
ReplyDeleteDisagree about it being confusing. The only differences one could feel/tell were KNX and DRN relationship progress. Everything else didn't matter because the episodes didn't have a serialized element outside of that.
ReplyDeleteSorry if that's how you took it. That is not the way it was intended. It was just a statement of fact about how he doesn't want to do TV any more if he doesn't continue on Almost Human. I heard his comments in person and didn't think they were stuck up. I understood where he was coming from.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 13 is good. :)
ReplyDeleteNow THAT would be interesting! :)
ReplyDeleteIt may happen!
ReplyDeletewhen i googled Almost Human today it said there will be a second season i hope that's true
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking you saw a headline that said Almost Human Season 2 Renewed? (With a question mark after it.) No decision or announcement has been made yet, but different media outlets are saying the buzz is looking good. :)
ReplyDeleteWould be interesting to see if they change it at all if they renew it.
ReplyDeleteIt was eventually supose to get more serialized/mythology orientated. I think we were right on the cusp of getting there...
ReplyDeleteFrom IGN - J. H. Wyman - July Interview:
That’s a very good question, and we were just talking about that. Here’s the thing; it’s the age-old battle. The age-old battle is the networks want it to be standalones, and us guys want it to be mythology -- so that’s the problem. I don’t know if you remember, but I figured it out on [Fringe’s] “White Tulip.” For me, I thought it was the right balance. So yeah, we want that. We’re going to take everything that we learned from Fringe and bring it over to this and say, “Okay, we want to have a very compelling case of the week,” because these are really cool cases. Criminals in the future, murders aren’t the same. Yeah, sure, they murder -- the motivations are the same -- but how they solve it and how people are killing, it’s very, very interesting. So we have a chance to show some incredible cases that you’ve never seen before, but you also want to see the mythology. So we don’t want to short shrift either. We have a really rich, compelling mythology that we’re very proud of and that we can’t wait to roll out. But it’s going to have to take it’s time coming out and making it kind of “wow!”, you know what I mean?"
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/27/fringes-jh-wyman-on-re-teaming-with-jj-abrams-for-foxs-almost-human?page=2
Thanks for the article. Although I certainly feel for Karl Urban, I do hope we get another season. It has the makings of being something really special. I wonder if he would consider Cable however? (and I'm still wondering if Kurtzman and Orci will realy do a Star Trek TV series set in the new time line after the third flick is out? And if we could see film characters guest star??)
ReplyDeleteReading the article it didn't seen that way either just the way it's titled on here does. It's the reason why I clicked on it to read it personally.
ReplyDeleteWow, you scared me. I read "No more tv for Karl Urban. Almos human is cancelled."
ReplyDeleteI like the show, specially Dorian. He's adorable.
I also like Rudy, I real liked Mackenzie on The Office.
He could play Doran Martel or Euron Greyjoy, would be awesome.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. It would be nice to see a season 2! I got the feeling he wasn't real interested in cable, either. But you never know. Also, interesting that you ask about a Star Trek TV series. At the Salt Lake Comic Con conference, Urban said he believes there will be a Star Trek TV series, though not using the same actors from the movies. I don't know if he had any specific knowledge/insights (he didn't mention WHY he thought that) but it made me wonder what he knows! Cool, huh? I'm writing a separate article on some of Urban's Star Trek stories/insight. I should post it later tonight. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to scare you - no, you missed the IF in the sentence. It sounds like it's looking good for renewal. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, not your fault at all... I just read it too fast and jumped to conclusions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article. It was also nice to hear the show might have better chances of renewal than I thought.
I would retire from TV if my show gets better ratings than other network shows like Mindy, Glee, The Following or B99.
ReplyDeleteNothing against those shows (in fact, I'm a B99 fan) but it must suck when you clearly see a network in such a bad shape like FOX playing favorites.
There'll always be lower rated shows picked up in favor of higher ones, but when your show finishes only behind Sleepy Hollow and the animations,
AH can't even be compared to another shows like Rob, a show with high overall ratings but low compared with other CBS comedies, which ended being the highest rated show (on relative ratings) canceled during A18-49 era or even NBC's Revolution this year, which has lower or similar chances to shows that perform worse like Parenthood or Community but has being beaten on NBC's drama race.
Glad the article didn't portray that. I was trying to be careful about it because I didn't want people to think he was dissing TV. He was just being real about why it was hard for him and if he'd do it again. If you're a fan of him in Star Trek or other movies, I'll post another article later tonight on some of his other stories/insight from movies.
ReplyDeleteReally like this show but by the end of the first season I was starting to get burned out on case of the week episodes. This show would be much better if they created and explored more mythology and expanded story arcs.
ReplyDeleteSee DarthLock4's comment post below. You may get your wish if it gets renewed.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Urban would be perfectly happy to see Almost Human cancelled, and he also makes it pretty clear that Almost Human is a limited (13 episode) series.
ReplyDeleteI was honestly surprised he signed on for a TV show in the first place since he's been in some pretty big movies and I consider him a movie star not a TV star.
ReplyDeleteThis! It's part of why Firefly was cancelled.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's tough to say. I wondered that myself but he didn't expand any more. He was walking that line, talking about loving the show & the people but mentioning how hard it was on his family. He didn't talk at all about it being a limited 13 episode series.
ReplyDeleteWell he clearly is not willing to do 22 episodes and film for 9 months out of the year.
ReplyDeleteThis site http://www.enstarz.com/articles/36614/20140418/almost-human-season-2-renewed-fox-set-to-bring-series-back-for-13-episodes-despite-cancellation-rumors-video.htm says not offical but its most likely.
ReplyDeleteThe more articles and "word of mouth" blogs I read about Karl Urban and Almost Human, it gets very cringe worthy and worrisome. If he doesn't want to work on the show he really needs to give interviewers and fans a straight answer. I personally want the show renewed because I like the context of 'human connection' and technology. I also want Michael Ealy to have some kind of steady point in his career, the guy seems to get into this roles and I've heard nothing but good things from the people who have worked with him.
ReplyDeleteSo if Dredd and Trek never have more sequels will Karl Urban quit doing movies too? Or these ones specifically.
My understanding is it's only TV shows that he finds demanding due to the hours and would quit.
ReplyDeleteIf the scheduling is better then I hope he reconsiders. For Almost Human, episodes had to be reshot due to episode shuffling, so it wouldn't be all that surprising if he was referring to this. From the way he responded I'm half expecting his character to be replace.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think you're right.
ReplyDeletealthough i really care for family- i really hold my fingers for AH renewal. i really love KU as an actor and between movie rolles it was great seeing him in a tv show. i guess if it'll be renewed the family matter could be resolved - which i hope for him!! family is above all.- take an example from cbs and H5-0- they changed scedual several time because of familly issues of the stars. as annoying as it might be for fans- these steps must be taken in order to keep the actors in the show without any of the job getting in the way of running a family.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful comments. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was just the scheduling he was referring to. I know, I hope he stays on, too! If AH does get renewed and he said he wanted out (which he hasn't), I don't think the network would let him out of his contract. I hope he finds a way to make it work with his family.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that FOX give this series a second season coz I love it.
ReplyDeleteI really hope this show gets renewed. For some reason, I always thought that it was better to do TV if you had family commitments. It provides a more regular schedule and the set is usually in one location, so you're not always travelling.. I guess it's different in his case, because his family is still living in New Zealand. And since he's still doing movies, that can be stressful.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why any actor would want to get in that grind for years, thinking about Supernatural now heading toward year 10. Other than the money and I bet there are other ways to make it, TV is hard. ;(
ReplyDeleteYes! You and a lot of others. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. You're right. I recently read an article about Michael Vartan where he said it was getting harder for TV actors to find jobs because so many movie actors were turning to TV since it was a better regular schedule for their families. You're also probably right that it makes a difference that his family is living in New Zealand still.
ReplyDeleteAs viewers, we don't usually think about all that. But it has to be hard.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's interesting to see how many actors are crossing over, isn't it? It never used to be like that.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteYes, same article I'd seen. Likely is good, right?
ReplyDeleteI know, that is good news, right?
ReplyDeleteYeah it is. We're in the golden age of television. It use to be you did a television series to get noticed to become a movie star but now the writing of television series are better then most movies.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting he said that! I know J.J. Abrams had dismissed his own involvement, but sometime @ last November Orci hinted that they (he and presumably Kurtzman) were in talks with CBS/Paramount about it...Since they also have their own production company, it would be interesting to see what they would do with it should they be the ones to bring ot back to TV. Some of the comics in the new time line have been pretty interesting explorations of old episodes re-hashed and contrasted. There's also a pair (issue 29 and 30) where we are introduced to parallel universe where everyone is the opposite sex and then they cross over with the previous (prime) Mirror universe! (I always wanted Fringe to do that). It would of made a really neat TV episode! Anyways, I guess only time would tell, but I would love to see a brand new Star Trek and Star Trek crew (non related to original time line) on TV!
ReplyDeleteI think it works out for the better if they do only have 13, because so many times serialized shows get bogged down with spinning their wheels mid-season. They can more easily tell a solid story each season. It's what Cable format has going for it.
ReplyDeleteI understand that it must be hard for him, but I at least hope they get a second season to finish explaining all the thing they started in season 1.
ReplyDeleteTonya, I think you should just link the video with that part of Urban's panel, because I too saw it and your article is sending a slightly different vibe from the live experience (even if quotes are correctly).
ReplyDeleteYeah would be nice to see a second season they can focus more on his ex girlfriend the Syndicate, The Dr who created the DRN's and went over the wall with the 500 chips to create an army it could be really good. so i hope it dose get picked up.
ReplyDeleteWhich leads to another issue I have, and that the is actors being overworked or exhausted. Contractual obligation aside, they are human.
ReplyDeleteI am just too blunt with things ^_^ but I have sympathy.
His character's and Dorian's interactions make the show. No Karl Urban/John no show (in my eyes).
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time understanding why it is made so demanding when it is a 13 episode show and they have a lot of time to make it vs. 22 episode show.
ReplyDeleteI can see it being tough on actors who don't have their family living nearby (several of the actors I've heard of buy houses near where they film if doing 22 episode shows).
You don't think 14-17 hours a day, 6 days a week is demanding?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't the casting of The Librarians pretty much predict Almost Human's fate?
ReplyDeleteWe ain't going over that wall no more. Just sayin'.
To be fair Karl Urban did no wrong on his part. In fact his chemistry with Michael Ealy was one of the best things about the show. The fault with AH was the lack of plot advancement. The episodes were jumbled to start with and when it finally got some momentum after 'Unbound' (the episode that guest starred the always-awesome-kick-ass Gina Carano!) where we met Dorian's maker who masterminded his way over the Wall, the writers did not advance this plot at all (which I felt was going to be main theme of the show). Still I would watch a Season 2 if they gave us one.
ReplyDeleteBecause of Laroquette? I don't think the Almost Human is coming back, but if it does, there are a thousand ways they can explain his absence.
ReplyDeleteNever said it wasn't demanding, just it's not the most demanding. Just saying it is not the most unusual work load. It is a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt's easier to do it if family is nearby.
I definitely agree!
ReplyDeleteLots to explore still! Crossing my fingers. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know all that, that's interesting. Thanks for sharing. Yes, I guess only time will tell but it would be fun to have it on TV again!
ReplyDeleteRatings is all a crazy game, isn't it?! Often what they cancel doesn't seem to make sense (definitely not from a viewer standpoint).
ReplyDeleteI agree. Cable shows really make it obvious. Of course, as a viewer I think it's more fun to see more episodes. But the consistency starts wavering like you say.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's got to be tough. I would think they would want their actors who are working hard to be happy and not overworked.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought that, too. 13 episodes is usually a lot easier to handle for the actors. It's why they love it on cable. Who knows. Like you said, some don't mind it as much and for others, it's tough. I'm sure it depends on each individual personal situation.
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry, I misunderstood you. It is a serie of factors. It is a sci-fi show with tons of action scenes, this alone make the working hours take longer than a 'normal' show. Almost Human didn't really develop the supporting cast, so the burden of the work was on Urban's and Ealy's shoulders. But Urban had more scenes without Ealy than the other way around, so I can see how his schedule was even more gruesome.
ReplyDeleteYeah he joined a particularly time consuming show to be on as lead. Especially jumping into TV after a career mostly made of movies.
ReplyDeleteHis chemistry with Michael Ealy definitely made the show. Hope we'll get a chance to watch a season 2! And maybe they'll advance some of the plots left over from season one.
ReplyDeleteSorry if you feel the article vibe was a little different than seeing it live. I used his quotes exactly and made sure to balance the tone by including how he started the topic talking about how much he loved the show. I wanted to make sure fans saw that before also seeing his comments about why he wouldn't do TV again. When you take comments from a fan panel and transfer them to a news-related story, it may not seem the same as the actual live event because the focus is on the news value of what he said. Anyway, we don't have video to link to but thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate your comments. It was sure fun to see him live. He was great, wasn't he?
ReplyDeleteP.S. Did you see the other article I wrote about Karl Urban that told more of his fun stories? Since that one wasn't as much a news story, I think it more captured the fun vibe of the panel. Here it is: http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/04/karl-urban-talks-star-wars-and-other.html
ReplyDeleteThis man is so easy on the eyes...
ReplyDeleteAlmost Human really isn't my cup of tea though. I'm not really a scifi fan. But Urban ... he's not exactly a big box office draw, is he?
More like "reliable" or reasonable, I would think. (but so hot! lol)
That would be fantastic! I'd love to see him slay the sister-screwing rapist Jaime Lannister!
ReplyDeleteKarl Urban would reinvigorate Game of Thrones, but they'd have to write him into the role of an honorable, noble, heroic, newly-single long-lost uncle of one of the main characters.
TV is hard. Working in a mine is hard.
ReplyDeleteTV might be grinding, but it's certainly not "hard" - at least not in comparison to what the 10s or 100s of millions of the world's population has to do each day just to survive.
Good way to put it. Grinding is a better word. :)
ReplyDeleteIn person he was even easier on the eyes! Oh yeah. :) Interesting, I didn't know a lot about him before this weekend. (I'm also not a huge sci-fi person.) But he appeared to be huge in the sci-fi/comic community. His panel filled a massive ballroom full of people and some didn't get in, I believe. He was one of their main draws at this convention. I didn't realize how popular he was. Dredd was another sci-fi movie based on a comic so he's built a loyal following in these types of communities.
ReplyDeleteHe could play Doran Martel. I think!!!!
ReplyDeleteMellow Jessica Where you from ?
Yeah, I never believed in TV Wise's renewal predictions.
ReplyDeleteYep, guess I won't be quoting them any more. Completely wrong!
ReplyDeleteWell they cancelled season 2 right? So that means then "bye bye Karl" ... What a shame.
ReplyDeleteYes, they did so no more Karl, I guess. It is a shame!
ReplyDelete