''Emerald City'' is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television series developed for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...

and Josh Friedman based on the early 20th century ''Oz'' book series written by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

, set in the fictional

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a fantasy world, magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, th ...

. Directed by

Tarsem Singh Tarsem Singh Dhandwar (born 26 May 1961), known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials. He directed ''The Cell'' (2000), '' The Fall'' (2006, also screenwriter and producer), '' I ...

and starring

Adria Arjona Adria Arjona Torres (born April 25, 1992) is an actress based in the United States. She played Dorothy Gale in the Oz book adaptation '' Emerald City'' (2017), Anathema Device in the TV adaptation of ''Good Omens'' (2019), and Bix Caleen in '' ...

Oliver Jackson-Cohen Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adrian Griffin in the 2020 adaptation of ''The Invisible Man'' and for his roles as Luke Crain and Peter Quint in the Netflix ...

, Ana Ularu and

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

, ''Emerald City'' received a 10-episode order by

in April 2015, which premiered on January 6, 2017, with a two-episode debut, and concluded on March 3, 2017. The series received mostly negative critical reviews, and was the lowest rated series on NBC. On May 5, 2017, NBC canceled the series after one season.

Premise

After being transported from

Lucas, Kansas Lucas is a city in Russell County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 332. History Lucas was established as the community of Blue Stem in 1877. It was renamed Lucas in 1887 after Lucas Place in St. Lo ...

, to the

by a tornado, 20-year-old

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...

sets out to find the Wizard, unaware that she is about to fulfill a prophecy that will change everyone's lives forever.

Cast and characters

Main

: a nurse from

who embarks on a perilous journey to Emerald City in an attempt to meet the Wizard and find her way back home. *

as Roan / Lucas: an amnesiac who accompanies Dorothy in an attempt to regain his lost memory and quickly finds himself falling in love with her. * Ana Ularu as

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

: the former Witch of the West, one of the Cardinal Witchesthe four most powerful of the 1,000-plus witches in Oz. West is the opium-addicted madam of a brothel who continues to use her magical abilities despite the fact that she blames magic for failing to save her fellow witches. *

Mido Hamada Mido Hamada ( arz, ميدو حمادة ; born 1971) is an Egyptian-German actor in film, theatre and television. Early life He was born in Cairo, Egypt to an Egyptian family that moved to Germany, where he studied at the American Embassy School ...

as Eamonn: an unquestioningly loyal member of the Wizard's Guard who is personally tasked with finding Dorothy before she reaches Emerald City and doing whatever it takes to prevent the Beast Forever's return. *

Gerran Howell Gerran Lyn Howell (born 25 February 1991) is a Welsh actor, director and writer of short films, best known for playing "Vladimir Dracula" in ''Young Dracula'', a CBBC television series that initially aired in 2006. Early life Howell was born in ...

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

: a young man who is reanimated following a horrific accident and forced into servitude only to find himself growing close to his new mistress. *Jordan Loughran as Ozma / Tip: a teenager who sets out to discover her true-self after being freed from a spell that has kept her in the form of a boy for most of her life. *

Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003–10) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). She has also appea ...

Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...

: the former Witch of the North, one of the four powerful Cardinal Witches. Glinda runs an orphanage for potential members of the Wizard's High Council and has held a deep-seated hatred towards the Wizard ever since he outlawed magic. *

as Frank Morgan / The Wizard of Oz: an enigmatic figure who sought to reinvent himself by ruling Oz and, in doing so, created a world where magic is outlawed. The character is named after

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

, who played the Wizard in the 1939 film.

Recurring

Florence Kasumba Florence Kasumba (born 26 October 1976) is a Ugandan-born German actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Ayo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), ''Black Panther'' (2018), '' Avengers: Infinit ...

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

: the Witch of the East, one of the Cardinal Witches - the four most powerful of the 1,000-plus witches in Oz. East created the Prison of the Abject, holding witches who illegally practiced magic. East keeps deals with the Wizard for her own purposes and is on a fight against her sister Glinda. *

Isabel Lucas Isabel Lucas (born 29 January 1985) is an Australian actress and model. She is mainly known for her roles in ''Home and Away'' (2003–06), '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' (2009), '' Daybreakers'' (2009), ''The Waiting City'' (2009), ...

as Anna: a member of the Wizard's High Council who quickly becomes his closest advisor after challenging his theory about the Beast Forever's return. *Roxy Sternberg as Elizabeth: a member of the Wizard's High Council who is determined to prove herself and protect Oz from the Beast Forever. *

Stefanie Martini Stefanie Martini (born 6 October 1990) is an English actress, known for her leading role in ITV's 2017 production '' Prime Suspect 1973''. She also starred in ''Doctor Thorne'' (2016), '' Emerald City'' (2017), the 2017 film '' Crooked House'' a ...

as Langwidere: the eccentric Princess of Ev who is determined to exact vengeance against the Wizard for leaving her mother and her people to die at the Beast Forever's hands. *Rebeka Rea as Leith / Sylvie: a child witch with dangerous abilities whom Dorothy and Lucas first come across in the woods near Nimbo and who seems to recognize Lucas. *

Gina McKee Georgina "Gina" McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for '' Our Friends in the North'' (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for '' The Lost Prince'' (2003) and '' The Street'' ...

as Dr. Jane Andrews: a contractor for the Royal Family of Ev who shares a mysterious connection to both Dorothy and the Wizard. *

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (born 13 March 1973) is an Icelandic-American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for ''Children'', '' Trapped'', '' The Deep'', '' Lady Dynamite'', and ''The Secret Life of Walter Mitty''. Early life Ólafu ...

Ojo Ojo may refer to: *Ōjō, a Japanese Buddhist term referring to rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha *Ojo, a curious red bear cub who has a wild imagination and is good friends with Treelo on ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' * ''Ojo'' (comi ...

: a member of the Munja'kin tribe who is determined to do whatever it takes to save his wife Nahara from the Prison of the Abject.

Production

The series was created by

who pitched an alternative telling, a dark, edgy version of '' The Wizard of Oz'' to Universal Television. Arnold wrote the pilot script, which then received a 10 episode direct-to-series order on NBC. Josh Friedman was brought on as showrunner. The series was originally slated to air in 2015, with filming scheduled to begin in 2014. However, it was cancelled before entering production due to creative differences between Friedman and the studio. On April 15, 2015, NBC reversed course and decided to go ahead with the series. On July 14, 2015, it was announced that

would direct all ten episodes, with

David Schulner ''David Schulner'' is an American television writer and producer. His production company is Mount Moriah. The company signed an overall deal with Universal Television. Television filmography Producer * ''What About Brian'' (2006) * '' Desp ...

as new showrunner, replacing Josh Friedman, and

Shaun Cassidy Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer, and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including ''American Gothic'', '' Roar'' and ''Invasion''. Cassidy currently serves as ...

coming on board as executive producer.

Episodes

Special

A special episode, titled "Oz Reimagined: The Making of ''Emerald City''", originally aired on December 16, 2016, and detailed the

behind the scenes In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vi ...

of the series including locations,

effects Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, a ...

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

s and interviews.

Broadcast

The series premiered on January 6, 2017 in the U.S. on

. The series launched on

5Star 5Star (stylized as 5STAR) is a British free-to-air television channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia and a sister channel of Channel 5. It originally launched as the female-orientated Five Life on 15 October 2006, and was relaunch ...

in the UK on February 8, 2017 to 670,000 viewers, the TV station's largest audience to date.

Reception

Ratings

The series premiered to low ratings among the demographic of adults aged 18–49, which continued to decline throughout its first season. The series finale drew in 2.9 million viewers. It ended as one of the lowest rated NBC series of 2017.

Critical reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 38% approval rating based on 42 reviews, with an average score of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads, "Dark and brooding, but also confusing and contrived, ''Emerald City'' is the ''Game of Thrones/Wizard of Oz'' mashup nobody asked for."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

reported a score of 47 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Home media

References

External links

* * * * {{Oz 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2017 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings American fantasy television series English-language television shows High fantasy television series Television about magic NBC original programming Television shows based on American novels Television series based on The Wizard of Oz Television series by Universal Television Television shows filmed in Croatia Television shows filmed in Hungary Television shows filmed in Spain Witchcraft in television American fantasy drama television series