Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

Profile
Created By	Edward Kitsis Adam Horowitz Zack Estrin Jane Espenson
Production Company	ABC Studios
Country of Origin	United States
Starring	Sophie Lowe Michael Socha Peter Gadiot Emma Rigby Naveen Andrews John Lithgow
No. of Seasons	1
No. of Episodes	13
Genre	Fantasy Drama Adventure Mystery
Original Network	ABC
Original Release	October 10, 2013 – April 3, 2014

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is an American fantasy-drama series created by Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Zack Estrin and Jane Espenson for ABC Studios. The program is a spin-off of Once Upon a Time and airs on ABC at 8:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm Central on Thursday nights in the 2013–14 television season beginning October 10, 2013.

The series is based around the Lewis Carroll novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 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 pre-Dark Curse Wonderland.

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. In April 2014, Michael Socha was confirmed to reprise his role as Will Scarlet/Knave of Hearts as a series regular in the fourth season of Once Upon a Time.

Premise[]

In a Victorian London-type world, the young and beautiful Alice tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole. An invisible cat, a hookah-smoking caterpillar, and playing cards that talk are just some of the fantastic things she's seen during this impossible adventure. Believing Alice to be insane, her doctors aim to cure her with a treatment that will make her forget everything. Alice seems ready to put it all behind her....especially the painful memory of the genie Cyrus, with whom she fell in love before losing him forever. But deep down, she knows this world is real. Just in the nick of time, the sardonic Knave of Hearts and the irrepressible White Rabbit save her from a doomed fate. Now Alice is determined to find Cyrus while evading the plots of Jafar and the Red Queen, all the while dealing with the whimsical dangers of Wonderland, including the infamous Jabberwocky.

Cast[]

Main cast[]

Sophie Lowe as Alice
Michael Socha as Will Scarlet/Knave of Hearts
Peter Gadiot as Cyrus
Emma Rigby as Anastasia/Red Queen
Naveen Andrews as Jafar
John Lithgow as Percy the White Rabbit (voice)

Recurring cast[]

Production and casting[]

In February 2013, Kitsis and Horowitz, along with producers Zack Estrin and Jane Espenson, developed a spin-off focusing on Lewis Carroll's Wonderland. The show will include 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." 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. Also, during the month of April, Paul Reubens was cast as the voice of the White Rabbit and Emma Rigby was cast as the Red Queen.

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. "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 ..." 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 amount of 13 episodes had been ordered. Edward Kitsis and Adam 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."

At Comic-Con 2013, it was announced that former Lost star, Naveen Andrews, would be joining the cast as the villain Jafar. It was announced in September that Keith David and Iggy Pop would also be included on the cast, as the Cheshire Cat and Caterpillar respectively. Iggy Pop will be a replacement for Roger Daltrey, who voiced the character originally as a guest star on Once Upon a Time. Barbara Hershey reprised her role as the Queen of Hearts in one episode.

Episodes[]

Main Article: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Episode List

Reception[]

Reviews for the show have been generally favorable. The program has a 61/100 score on Metacritic based on 21 reviews. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times gave the show a positive review and wrote, "There is plenty of that—the good, the beautiful and the etc. Some of it is conjured by CG magic (the Red Queen's palace is splendid, and the White Rabbit's ears a masterwork), and some by just good storytelling and performer chemistry, which Lowe and Socha have in abundance. Add to that a smattering of witty dialogue, clever character twists and, of course, the Victo-goth steampunk look, and ABC has another shot at redefining the family hour." David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle said that while the plot was, "a little overstuffed" he wrote that "the special effects, crisp direction and high-octane performances keep us interested enough to follow Alice down the rabbit hole." Brian Lowry of Variety gave the show a mixed review by writing, "Wonderland is equally handsome [as Once Upon a Time], but behind those virtual sets lurk many potential flaws. An appealing Alice certainly helps matters, but past performance reduces the likelihood of a fairy-tale ending."

Trivia[]

During the production of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland it was initially reported that the show would recast Sebastian Stan's Mad Hatter due to his commitment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Edward Kitsis later revealed the next month that due to fan backlash, the character would not be recast and the series would proceed without the character.
Paul Reubens was originally cast as the voice of the White Rabbit.
Due to unknown reasons, Roger Daltrey, who voiced the Caterpillar in the Once Upon a Time episode "Hat Trick", did not provide his voice for the spin-off. Instead, Iggy Pop voices the character.
During development, the project was titled Once: Wonderland.
On June 28, 2013, it was announced that ABC ordered additional episodes to the original order of 13. However, for an unknown reason, these episodes were later cancelled.
TV ad rates for 30 second spots cost $97,136 for the series.
Concept artist Paolo Venturi created concept art of a room full of magic doors for the show, similar to the one seen in the Once Upon a Time episode "Hat Trick", but this idea was not used.
The show writers wanted to include a story about Alice's mother, but they never got the chance.
John Lithgow is the only starring cast member that does not appear in every episode of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.