With Wicked now in theaters, the adaptation of the Broadway musical — which itself is an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel — has sparked a renewed interested in all things Wizard of Oz. Not only has there been an uptick in sales of copies of Maguire’s book (and a prequel novel, Elphie, is on the way in March) — but we’re in the time of year where the 1939 MGM classic The Wizard of Oz is airing regularly on television as well. But while there is plenty of well-known Oz-related content to consume, there’s one nearly forgotten adaptation that fans should really check out — especially if they’re looking for a darker take on the tale.
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Debuting in 2017, Emerald City was a series that aired on NBC for just one, 10-episode season. The series, created by Matthew Arnold and Josh Friedman and directed by Tarsem Singh was a sort of modern retelling of L. Frank Baum’s Oz book series and told the story of Dorothy Gale (Adria Arjona), a nurse from Lucas, Kansas who finds herself transported to the Land of Oz by a tornado where she soon ends up on a dangerous journey to the Emerald City hoping to meet the Wizard and make her way home. However, unbeknownst to Dorothy, she’s about to fulfill a prophecy that will have major repercussions on everyone she encounters.
While the premise of Emerald City is familiar — it’s pretty much the same concept as The Wizard of Oz — the execution of that premise is much darker. The show’s version of the Scarecrow (Roan/Lucas played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is an amnesiac who Dorothy finds being crucified, the show combines Omby Amby and Cowardly Lion to create a Wizard loyalist named Eamonn (played by Mido Hamada) and there are numerous other composite characters in the series, as well as some characters from books beyond The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Beyond the differences in characters and their more grim circumstances, the show is a bit more outright violent. the Wizard (played by Vincent D’Onofrio) wants Dorothy dead — and he’s not the only person who tries to have Dorothy murdered. There’s also a shocking moment in the series premiere where a resurrected Wicked Witch of the East confronts Dorothy only for Dorothy to trick her into shooting herself in the head. And friends, this only scratches the surface.
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What Happened to Emerald City?
While the darker, grittier take on Oz is certainly interesting, the show unfortunately didn’t find its audience — and also didn’t fare well with critics. The series debuted with a 38% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics likening the series as a mashup of The Wizard of Oz and Game of Thrones, but not in a good way. The series was also one of NBC’s lowest rated series that year, and after a long road to even get to its first season to begin with — the series was originally ordered to series in 2015 but was hung up due to creative differences with original showrunner Josh Friedman and the studio — the series was cancelled. However, the series is still available for fans to watch. All 10 episodes are streaming on Peacock.
There Are Other “Dark” Takes on Oz, Too
If investing time to watch a 10-episode, short-lived series isn’t exactly your speed, you don’t have to miss out on another darker take on Oz. In 1985, Walt Disney Pictures released Return to Oz, an unofficial sequel to the 1939 classic largely based on Baum’s novel Ozma of Oz. The movie sees Dorothy (played here by Fairuza Balk in her feature film debut) return to Oz only to find that it’s been conquered by the Wicked Nome Kin, leaving it up to Dorothy to restore the land with the help of some new friends. The series performed poorly at the box office but has since gone on to be a cult classic — in part for its darker take on the story and it’s more faithful adaptation of Baum’s work. That film can be watched on Disney+.
Wicked is in theaters now.
