'Six' Will Premiere Later Than Intended

The following information contains good news and bad news. I'll do the bad news first, so the good news feels like a nice treat. The bad news is that the new History show Six will no longer star Joe Manganiello because he had to drop out due to health concerns, Variety reported in April. The good news is, even though the series was meant to premiere Monday July 18, recently Channel Guide Magazine announced that Six pushed the premiere date back to this fall instead. Bustle reached out to History for comment, but has not yet received a response.

If a delayed premiere still sounds like bad news, I promise you there's a good reason for the push. Although Manganiello was replaced by Walton Goggins, Channel Guide Magazine reported that Manganiello had already been in a few scenes, so instead of rushing Six to the screen and risking jeopardizing its quality, the premiere was delayed so the cast and crew could put the extra work in to make sure the product was good. For a show with serious subject matter, that seems wise. And don't worry guys, Manganiello's wife Sofia Vergara reported to Entertainment Tonight that he's doing OK now, give or take an appendix.

Six is based on the stories of real Navy SEAL missions from the past 15 years, and goes into the personal and professional lives of these soldiers when faced with the tough life-and-death calls. The show is written by William Broyles Jr. of Jarhead fame and David Broyles. According to History, the first season focuses on "Navy SEAL Team Six, the best of the best, whose 2014 mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan goes awry when they uncover a U.S. citizen working as a jihadist fighter with the terrorists."

Channel Guide Magazine talked to Maganiello's replacement, Goggins, and another actor in the series Barry Sloane. The two play seal Richard “RIP” Taggart and team leader Joe "Bear" Graves respectively. Goggins admitted that serving as a replacement wasn't all fun and games saying, "It’s a lot. It’s a lot. There’s a relationship amongst the cast. You step into something that’s fully formed, and you want to respect that and the road that people have gone down. Then you also have to respect your own space and your own interpretation of it. These guys were just so open and receptive and welcoming that it really just wasn’t a problem.”

In a world where we want our content yesterday, networks must feel a lot of pressure to have their shows available as soon as possible. So, it feels even more special that Six is taking its time in light of its recent issues. Care and sensitivity taken with a heavy subject material is key to good television. It's going to be exciting to see what Goggins, Sloane, and the rest of the cast and crew do with Six this fall. And, as for Manganiello, he's always starring in my dreams, plus we're sure to see him in something wonderful again soon!

Image: History