The Halo TV series has been in development for a long time. The first news about the project emerged in 2015, and since then, many changes have occurred, including its move from Showtime to Paramount+. During the Television Critics Association’s 2021 summer tour , ViacomCBS executives announced that the show would premiere in 2022.
The series was originally being developed by Amblin Television (with Steven Spielberg producing) and 343 Industries. Writers, producers, and directors came and went, with Showtime eventually ordering 10 episodes. Decisions about how Halo would fit into Showtime’s programming were then re-evaluated.
The launch of CBS Access/Paramount+ created a new avenue for ViacomCBS. As development for Halo progressed, it was decided that such a large project would do better at Paramount+. The streaming service has already been doubling down on Star Trek. Halo presents a similar potential for expansion if it proves successful. Showtime will still be involved despite the switch to Paramount+.
We love Halo. We have great affection for it. And that’s a good fit, because we continue on at the studio. So, we’re going to be intimately involved with the creative and the production of it…But the truth is that it was always a bit of an outlier for us in terms of its fit in the Showtime universe. We did an amazing job of imbuing into the series the character drama that we’re so well known for. But at the end of the day, it is a big, broad, big—tent show, so when Paramount+ came into being, it really was a natural fit there.
Look, we started developing Halo seven years ago when there was no Paramount+ or even the glimmer of an idea about it. And it was always a bit of an odd fit, you know? ‘What is Showtime doing talking a video game, a first-person shooter video game, and putting it in their dramas? We worked real hard over all those years, as Jana has said, to find ways that it could fit. But when Paramount+ emerged, you know, it seemed like it was a better fit for Paramount+. – Jana Winograde and Gary Levine, co-presidents of Showtime Entertainment