It’s hard work being a die-hard comic-book and pop-culture fan.
Traditional TV channels like The CW and Fox in the US have adaptations of comics, science-fiction and fantasy franchises, like DC and Archie Comics. But the plethora of subscription-video services tapping into pop-culture properties mean fans will have to juggle a bunch of platforms to see new shows.
Audiences in the US will need at least seven different streaming services to watch the big TV shows featured at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego this past weekend.
Here’s what you’d need to watch them all:
Amazon Prime Video ($8.99 per month)
- Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, which screened its debut episode at Comic-Con — debuting on Aug. 31
- Lore, season 2 — Oct. 19
- Homecoming, a thriller starring Julia Roberts from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail — Nov. 2
- The Tick, season 2 — 2019
- Good Omens, an mini-series adaption of the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett novel — 2019
- The Expanse, season 4, which Amazon rescued from cancellation — release date not yet announced
CBS All Access ($5.99 per month; $9.99 without commercials)
- Star Trek: Discovery, season 2 — 2019
- Tell Me a Story, a new series that reimagines classic fairy titles as dark thrillers in modern day New York City — release date not yet announced
- Twilight Zone reboot from Jordan Peele — release date not yet announced
DC Universe ($7.99 per month)
- Titans, a live-action superhero series based on DC Comics’ Teen Titans — 2018
Disney’s untitled streaming service (price not yet announced)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars revival — 2019
Hulu ($7.99 per month)
- Castle Rock, a drama based on author Stephen King’s works, which was screened at Comic-Con — July 25
Netflix ($7.99 per month in the US)
- Iron Fist, season 2 — Sept. 7
- Disenchantment, an animated fantasy series by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening — August 17
On both Sundance Now and Shudder ($6.99 and $4.99 per month, respectively)
- A Discovery of Witches, an adaptation by the UK’s Sky One of Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy
That’d be about $36 per month in streaming-video subscriptions alone, plus whatever Disney’s services is going to cost, by Quartz’s back-of-the-envelope calculations. Savvy streamers can save money by taking advantage of the free-trial offers, or cancelling the contract-free subscriptions once each show is through.
Other shows, like the upcoming season of AMC’s The Walking Dead and FX’s Sons of Anarchy spin-off, Mayans MC, which each premiered trailers at Comic-Con, require a cable-TV subscription to watch live.
Otherwise, fans will have to wait around for them to land on services like Netflix or Hulu.
Paired with a streaming-TV subscription like YouTube TV or DirecTV Now, which run for around $40 per month, all those streaming-video subscriptions would cost you around $80 each month. That’s not terrible considering that the average cost of a cable bill in the US is around $100. But it’s a lot of subscriptions and apps to keep track of month after month.
Here’s what else debuted at Comic-Con this weekend:
AMC
- Fear the Walking Dead, season 4 — airing now
- Preacher, season 3 — airing now
- Better Call Saul, season 4 — Aug. 6
- The Walking Dead, season 9, the last with leading man Rick Grimes — Oct. 7
BBC America
- Doctor Who, series 11, starring the BBC One show’s first woman doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker — Fall 2018
FX
- Mayans MC, a spin-off of Kurt Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy — Sept. 4
- Legion, season 3— 2019
Freeform
- Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger, season 2 — 2019
Syfy
- Nightflyers, a psychological thriller from Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin — release date not yet announced
- Deadly Class, a comic-book adaption about a school that trains students to become assassins — release date not yet announced
USA Network
- The Purge TV series — Sept. 4