Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is an American fantasy-drama series that aired on ABC from October 10, 2013, to April 3, 2014. It was created by Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Zack Estrin, and Jane Espenson for ABC Studios. The program is a spin-off of the ABC series Once Upon a Time and aired on ABC at 8:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm Central on Thursday nights in the 2013–14 television season beginning October 10, 2013.[1]
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Mark Isham
United States
English
1
13
- Edward Kitsis
- Adam Horowitz
- Steve Pearlman
- Zack Estrin
- Kathy Gilroy
- Joe Lazarov
- Brian Wankum
Attila Szalay
45 minutes
October 10, 2013 –
April 3, 2014
The series is based on the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) but with a different twist from the other adaptations, and takes place in the same universe as Once Upon a Time in present-day Wonderland, with flashbacks to Wonderland before it fell prey to a dark curse.[2] It follows the same setting as the parent series, including the use of Disney and Lost allusions. In addition, the series features occasional crossover events with Once Upon a Time that involve connections with the characters that are trapped in Storybrooke, Maine.[3]
The series received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised its cast, visuals, and narrative, but criticized the muddled plot. On March 27, 2014, it was revealed that the series would be ending after one season, with the series finale airing on April 3, 2014.[4] Actor Michael Socha, in his Wonderland role as Will Scarlet / Knave of Hearts, joined Once Upon a Time as a series regular for its fourth season.[5][6]
Premise[edit]
After the apparent death of her true love Cyrus, Alice returns home to Victorian England where she is placed in an asylum, and her doctors aim to cure her with a treatment that will make her forget everything about her tales in Wonderland. However, she is rescued by the Knave of Hearts and the White Rabbit and brought back to Wonderland to save Cyrus, who is discovered to be alive. Now back in Wonderland, Alice must evade the plots of Jafar and the Red Queen, all while dealing with the whimsical dangers of Wonderland, including the infamous Jabberwocky, and in a crazy and dangerous way to find her true love.
Production and casting[edit]
In February 2013, Kitsis and Horowitz, along with producers Zack Estrin and Jane Espenson, began development on a spin-off of Once Upon a Time which would focus on Lewis Carroll's Wonderland. It was initially reported that the show would recast Sebastian Stan's Mad Hatter due to his commitment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe,[10] but Kitsis later revealed the next month that due to fan backlash and respect for Stan's performance, the character would not be recast and the series would proceed without the character.[11]
The show includes new characters, such as "Amahl, described as exotic, soulful and optimistic; and The Knave, a sardonic adventurer, a man of action, a loner and a heart-breaker."[12] On March 28, 2013, it was announced that Sophie Lowe would portray the lead role of Alice. It was also announced that Peter Gadiot would play her love interest, Cyrus, who has "a background". Michael Socha will portray the Knave of Hearts. Barbara Hershey, who has appeared as Cora, the Queen of Hearts, in the main series, may also appear in this spin-off reprising the same role in back stories .[13] Also, during the month of April, Paul Reubens was cast as the voice of the White Rabbit[14] and Emma Rigby was cast as the Red Queen.[15]
On May 10, 2013, ABC announced that it had greenlit the spin-off, as well as also announcing that John Lithgow would replace Reubens as the voice of the White Rabbit. On May 14, 2013, ABC announced that the spin-off will air in the Thursday night timeslot instead of making it a fill-in for the parent series.[16] "We really want to tell the story without having to worry about how to stretch it for five years," said Edward Kitsis. "This is not meant to be a 22-episode season. Whatever it ends up being, we'll have told a complete story ..."[17] It was revealed in August at the TCA Summer Press Tour that, contrary to previous reports that more than 13 episodes were ordered straight out the gate, only the usual number of 13 episodes had been ordered. Kitsis and Horowitz commented, "However many we wind up doing this season, what we're planning to do is tell a kind of complete tale with a beginning, middle and end" and added "If it does well [and] people like it, hopefully we'll come back and tell another adventure with this cast."[18]
At Comic-Con 2013, it was announced that former Lost star Naveen Andrews would be joining the cast as the villain Jafar.[19] It was later announced in September that Keith David and Iggy Pop would also join the cast as the Cheshire Cat and Caterpillar, respectively. Iggy Pop replaced Roger Daltrey, who voiced the character as a guest star on Once Upon a Time. Barbara Hershey reprised her Once Upon a Time role as Cora / Queen of Hearts in one episode.