sf/f TV development news - 2013

[RJDiogenes]

The SyFy Channel has given a direct-to-series order for Forever 13, a show about members of a sci-fi forum who participate in a thread that somehow becomes stuck in the year 2013. While amusing at first, they quickly discover there is a greater mystery involved than they first thought and come to realize that they are destined to fight in a millennia-old battle between the darkness and the light that will determine the fate of the very universe itself. "This is a completely new concept in entertainment, designed to appeal to a young, edgy demographic," says the press release. "Never before has a show been attempted where the characters discover that there is a greater mystery involved than they first thought and come to realize that they are destined to fight in a millennia-old battle between the darkness and the light that will determine the fate of the very universe itself. It will be dark. And gritty."

 

[Kimi3013]

I'd watch it.

 

[Borgminister]

Dark and gritty--on SyFy? Hm.

 

[Christopher]

Dark and gritty--on SyFy? Hm.

Is that surprising? This is the network that aired Battlestar Galactica, the archetype of the dark-'n'-gritty trend in SFTV. It's followed that with Caprica and Defiance in the same vein, as well as the gritty Canadian import Continuum and several miniseries offering D&G reinterpretations of classic children's tales, like Tin Man and Alice.

 

[sojourner]

Defiance is considered dark and gritty? Wow, "dark and gritty" sure has become watered down.

 

[Borgminister]

Sorry, but to me, Battlestar Galactica jumped the shark early on in terms of being truly true dark and gritty, as opposed to pretentious and boring. Defiance I gave up on early, and also do not consider dark and gritty, but rather cartoony (rightly or wrongly I understand it's better now), and Continuum is certainly not dark and gritty to my eyes. Action and death do not automatically make for dark and gritty.

Hannibal. That's dark and gritty.

 

[Christopher]

Sorry, but to me, Battlestar Galactica jumped the shark early on in terms of being truly true dark and gritty, as opposed to pretentious and boring.

There's a difference?

 

[Enterprise is Great]

NBC Buys Supernatural Medical Drama

This development season, Davis’ Sony TV-based Davis Entertainment again is bringing together a feature writer, Source Code‘s Ben Ripley, and director, Fast & Furious 7‘s James Wan, for a drama project, which has sold to NBC with significant penalty.

Written by Ripley and to be directed by Wan, Maidenhead is described as a medical procedural wrapped in a very realistic, frightening supernatural drama. When a scientist is called to a tony Connecticut suburb to investigate an ailing teen girl, he discovers that her affliction presents itself as a demonic contagion slowly spreading through the town. His team peels back the secrets and lies buried within the fabric of the community while medically deconstructing the tropes of demon mythology.

Also

Josh Holloway To Topline Carlton Cuse’s USA Pilot ‘Colony’

 

[Christopher]

That reminds me, wasn't there an attempt to develop Source Code as a TV series a couple years back? Did that fall through?

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Sarah Wayne Callies joins 'Colony' cast

Extant, Under the Dome renewed

Legendary TV Developing Series Based On Computer Game ‘Myst’

DHX To Adapt ‘Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs’ For TV With Sony

 

[Christopher]

Extant was renewed? I'm very surprised. It was pretty lousy.

 

[Vendikarr]

Extant was renewed? I'm very surprised. It was pretty lousy.

It doesn't have to be good, it just has to make them money.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

It also helps that Amazon has a deal to streaming episodes of Extant and the money they pay CBS makes Extant pretty cheap for the network.


-=-

‘Lost In Space’ Series Reboot In Works At Legendary TV

 

[Taylirious]

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/CW-Wants-Third-DC-Comics-Show-Here-Latest-67746.html

Really high on FLASH!

 

[Enterprise is Great]

FOX developing dirty-dozen-in-space drama

 

[Enterprise is Great]

NBC developing supernatural anthology based on Hispanic folklore

 

[Borgminister]

Neither sounds particularly gripping... but you never know!

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'm always up for a good anthology. What's that, four that are currently in development? If you count the possible Twilight Zone revival?

 

[JD]

^That's probably because of the success of American Horror Story.

 

[RJDiogenes]

True, and there's a show on HBO with a similar format that has apparently been pretty successful, too. Hopefully the time has come for anthologies to make a comeback.