Sci-Fi Storm

Just an FYI – Syfy changed their schedule for its Thursday night lineup. Originally Haven was expected to air at 10PM ET/PT starting next Thursday with a lead-in from Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. However, they announced today that they are shifting it around, leading with Haven in the 8PM time slot, with two episodes of Spartacus to follow each week.

It’s been almost a year since we heard about plans to create a “companion” series to AMC’s The Walking Dead, which would explore the Zombie Apocalypse in a different area of the world. Finally it is one step closer to happening with AMC giving a pilot order for the show.

We still don’t know anything about the show’s premise or location, but we do know that Dave Erickson, who helped create and write the pilot of The Walking Dead with Robert Kirkman, will be the showrunner and executive producer. The executive producing team of Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd and David Alpert from the parent show will also be executive producers.

Production is expected to begin in late 2014.

As we reported a few weeks ago, a deal to adapt Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End for Syfy was close, and now it’s done – Syfy has given the go ahead for production today, for what will be a six hour mini-series.

In making the announcement, Dave Howe, President, Syfy, said: “As we aggressively develop scripted programming over a diverse creative landscape, we want our content to reflect the greatest sci-fi stories from the past and the present. The powerful themes of Childhood’s End, from the fearsome price of peace and prosperity, to the very question of what constitutes a human being, remain fascinating and timeless. This will be the most ambitious project for Syfy in many years.”

Akiva Goldsman (Lone Survivor, A Beautiful Mind, I Am Legend) and Mike De Luca (Captain Philips, Moneyball, The Social Network) are attached as executive producers. Childhood’s End will be adapted by Matthew Graham (creator of BBC’s Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes). Universal Cable Productions will be the studio.

The miniseries will be directed by Nick Hurran, who received a 2014 Emmy Award nomination for Sherlock: His Last Vow and a Hugo Award nomination for Doctor Who.

Additional behind the scene credits include Emmy Award winners Neville Kidd (Director of Photography) and Yan Miles (Editor). Both were just honored by the Academy for their work in Sherlock: His Last Vow.

Hailed as a revolutionary work of science fiction since its publishing in 1953, Childhood’s End follows the peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious “Overlords,” whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture.

This just looks like a fun episode…
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