Sci-Fi Storm

In a switch of recent acquisitions of Canadian productions by Syfy, Canada’s Shaw Media announced today that they have acquired the Syfy/Trion Worlds production Defiance, to air on Showcase.

Defiance is nearing the end of filming of its first season, with it set to air in April on Syfy, with Showcase likely airing it around the same time.

Defiance stars Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Graham Greene (Rafe McCawley), Mia Kirshner (Kenya) and Fionnula Flanagan (Nicky).

Set on a future Earth, Defiance introduces players and viewers to a world where humans and aliens live together on a planet transformed by decades of conflict. The game combines the intense action of a “AAA” console shooter, with the persistence, scale, and customization of an MMO, while its TV counterpart weaves the rich tapestry of the world into a series with the scope, characters, and drama of a classic sci-fi epic. Because they exist in a single universe, the show and the game will influence each other and evolve together over time, with actions in both mediums driving the overall story of Defiance.

Syfy announced today that they have renewed their hit reality competition show Face Off for a fourth season in 2013, and will include guests Bryan Singer and Jon Landau. The show features Emmy and Oscar-winning makeup artist Ve Neill and Glenn Hetrick, owner of Optic Nerve Studios (the studio responsible for Emmy-award winning makeup for Babylon 5 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) judging contestants creating amazing makeup creations for each week’s theme. The third season is currently airing on Syfy.

Also announced is a new competition series based on a show from Chile, called Opposite Worlds.

In Opposite Worlds, twenty people from all walks of life are mixed together in two opposing teams that live in two distinctly different worlds – the Past and the Future. The Future is a Utopia where every wish can be granted with a push of a button; the Past is a constant struggle for survival. Each week, players compete in a series of challenges to determine who lives in the Past and who lives in the Future.

“Opposite Worlds has become an absolute phenomenon,” according to Mark Stern, President, Original Content, Syfy, and Co-Head, Original Content, Universal Cable Productions. “This groundbreaking, edgy program is a remarkable television experiment transporting the audience and the contestants into starkly opposite worlds, simultaneously. This will be a terrific addition to our prime time schedule which will fascinate Syfy viewers and invite them to play a part in the action and outcome.”

Opposite Worlds will consist of 12 episodes over six weeks, marking the first time Syfy has ever aired an original series twice a week.

Here is a quick preview for tonight’s episode of Revolution – and check out @NBCRevolution on Twitter as they will be live-tweeting during the East Coast showing of the episode! It airs at 10/9c on NBC after The Voice:
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Just a reminder – PRometheus is out on both [sfs=1261]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1262]DVD[/sfs] this coming Tuesday, October 9th. Order now and you could still get it on Tuesday, and help us pay the bills!

Merlin may not return to Syfy until January, but it starts on BBC One tomorrow, Saturday, Oct 6th! Wondering what is in store in the fifth season? Check out the teaser trailer!
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Georgiaville Television appears to be the hot ticket in town…now Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, is teaming with the studio for The After, a thriller which involved a mysterious, unexplained event (haven’t we seen this several times already?) and will include science fiction and suspense elements.

Georgiaville is also producing the Blake’s 7 remake for Syfy, a pandemic drama now titled Hunters with J. Michael Straczynski for ABC, and the recently announced Wachowskis/JMS supernatural series Sense8.

Already jonesing for more Warehouse 13? Well, this won’t exactly tide you over until April, but it’s a start – see what happens next…
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On next Monday’s Alphas, it’s Midnight Run, Alphas-style as Hicks and Kat transport a valuable Parish asset. Guest starring Sean Astin! Tune in Monday at 8/7c.
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I just got confirmation that Syfy has acquired Primeval: New World, the Canadian spin-off of Primeval starring Eureka‘s Niall Matter and led by executive producers Martin Wood (Sanctuary, the Stargate TV franchise) and Gillian Horvath (Sanctuary, Flash Gordon).

Air date is to be determined, but will be after the new year.

Updated: more complete information – see the press release below.
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NBC is starting it’s back-end pick ups of freshman series, and Revolution made the cut, getting a full-season order. Although not doing spectacular in the live ratings, it is apparently NBC’s most time-shifted (people watching later on DVRs) show.

However, those looking forward NBC’s reboot of the classic comedy The Munsters (which was going by the title Mockingbird Lane, referring to the street the Munsters lived on) will get no joy, as it appears that NBC has chosen to pass on the series after the pilot. I was originally very skeptical of the show, but after landing Eddie Izzard as Grampa I thought it could have been interesting. No idea if they plan to air or release the pilot.

Update: Maybe Mockingbird Lane isn’t dead. At least according to producer Bryan Fuller on Twitter: NBC just informed me the Deadline article regarding #MockingbirdLane was Dead Wrong. Stay tuned for updates!