Television Review

The Continental: From the World of John Wick (2023) — intriguing backstory, not enough action

The origin of Winston Scott’s management of The Continental hotel-for-assassins is revealed…

Recent film-to-TV spin-offs have sounded like terrible ideas from the start; more like cynical brand exploitation than a real opportunity to deliver something worthwhile. Remember the short-lived TV series Taken (2017–18) without Liam Neeson, or the Jason Bourne spin-off Treadstone (2019) without Jason Bourne? Probably not, as most viewers steered clear. And even the shows that almost worked — like the Superman-less prequel Krypton (2018–19) about his alien ancestors, or the Batman-less Pennyworth (2019–2022) focused on butler Alfred’s younger days in Swingin’ Sixties London — rarely last more than a few years. Strangely, however, studios keep returning to this well to exploit valuable IP, so here comes a John Wick prequel without John Wick…

The Continental instead explores the backstory of Winston Scott (Ian McShane), the stern but suave owner of the titular hotel where assassins are…