Sci-Fi Storm

Alas for Helix fans, Syfy has canceled the show after the conclusion of its second season, which aired on April 10th. The show’s first season did incredibly well for the network, with the premiere debuting with 1.82 million Live+Same Day viewers, and broke records with a 53% total viewer gain and 64% in the key 18-49 demo on Live+3.

However, with the change of scenery that went with the new season, it appeared that the time-hopping, nature-commune plot lost people, as ratings on average dropped significantly, losing more than half of the total viewers from the first season.

Syfy announced today their Summer 2015 programming lineup, which includes two returning series, 2 new scripted series, a game show…oh, and more sharks…

In June, Syfy’s new 8-11PM scripted programming block kicks off Friday, June 12 at 8PM with the two-hour premiere of Defiance, followed by the debut of Dark Matter at 10PM. On Friday, June 19, Killjoys joins the schedule, premiering at 9PM.

Defiance is the story of a ravaged planet Earth thirty-five years in the future, the lives of its citizens permanently altered following the sudden arrival of seven alien races. In this unknown and unpredictable landscape, the diverse, newly-formed civilization of humans and aliens must learn to co-exist peacefully. Following the events of last season’s cliffhanger finale, the series’ two-hour Season 3 premiere opens on the eve of an impending military siege – and the surprise arrival of the mysterious and nearly extinct Omec, an alien race of warriors.

The new season features cast additions Lee Tergesen (The Americans) as military leader General Rahm Tak, Nichole Galicia (Django Unchained) as Kindzi and Conrad Coates (The Strain) as her father, T’evgin. Returning cast includes Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Graham Greene and Jesse Rath. Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica) resumes his role as executive producer and showrunner.

In the new original series Dark Matter, the crew of a derelict spaceship awakens with no memories of who they are or how they got there. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage fueled by vengeance, betrayal and hidden secrets.
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Syfy announced today it has greenlit to pilot Incorporated, a futuristic espionage thriller from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Pearl Street Productions, CBS Television Studios and Universal Cable Productions. Set in a future where companies have unlimited power, Incorporated tells the story of executive Ben Larson, forced to change his identity in order to infiltrate a cut-throat corporate world, to save the woman he loves. In the process, he will take on the entire system – with deadly consequences.

Created by David and Alex Pastor (Selfless, The Last Days), who wrote and will direct the pilot, the dystopian future of the show reflects contemporary trends: the growing influence of corporations and private interests in Washington, the slow but steady dismantling of the public sector, and the increase of an amazing amount of wealth by an ever shrinking minority. Incorporated will explore these issues via suspense, action, complex characters and a dark sense of humor, plunging viewers into a future world where the ethical boundaries that we know have been completely redrawn.

Ted Humphrey (The Good Wife) will serve as executive producer/showrunner, with Damon, Affleck and Jennifer Todd also executive producing. Pearl Street Film’s Margaret Chernin will serve as associate producer.

“Syfy is working with the best talent in the business to develop the most provocative and smart science fiction programming, and we are delighted to be partnering with Matt, Ben and Jennifer, along with the creative minds of the Pastor brothers and Ted on this pilot,” said Dave Howe, President, Syfy. “Incorporated is an electrifying example of what science fiction does best: holding a mirror to present realities and projecting forward to a recognizable future in which we face the impact and consequences of our actions.”

Said Damon and Affleck: “Incorporated provides us distinct insight into a world dictated by our decisions today. Viewers will delve into the intricacies of our future, one that we are constantly warned of, but as a society have not yet explored. We believe this is an important and timely story to tell and can think of no one better to guide us into this than David, Alex and Ted.”

Only because it was on Syfy, and people often joked that it made the former Sci-Fi Channel the “Wrestling Channel” – WWE Smackdown will move from Syfy to cable sibling USA in early 2016.

I still maintain that WWE Smackdown was being shown on Syfy because higher ups wanted it that way. WWE, after absorbing all its competition, was trying to develop a rivalry system, and having two competing “brands” on separate networks would help in that goal. It also had great ratings, bringing in advertising dollars which allowed the network to roll the dice on riskier, more expensive ventures. Syfy had plenty of primetime space on the schedule, so it did not mean that they eliminated programming to show it.

If at first you don’t succeed…Syfy apparently still wants sci-fi/pop culture news on its channel, so it is looking to Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist Industries to take it’s popular Nerdist News YouTube program and bring it to the TV screens in a 30-minute commercial format.

Syfy tried last year with the Wil Wheaton Project starring the popular king nerd himself, using a “Talk Soup” style. While entertaining, at times it seemed like it tried a little too hard early on, and wasn’t able to gain viewership.

Wheaton and Hardwick are in fact former roommates, and Hardwick did appear in the debut episode of Wil Wheaton Project, so I’d expect Wil might not be a stranger to the new show…but no host has been announced yet, and Hardwick himself would only produce the show. Jessica Chabot currently hosts the YouTube show.

Syfy announced today that the widely praised adventure thriller 12 Monkeys has been greenlit for a second season, expected to air in 2016.

With Natalie Chaidez prepping her next Syfy series (UCP and Valhalla Productions’ Hunters), Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (Nikita), co-executive producers and writers of the pilot, will be stepping up to serve as EP/Showrunners. Atlas Entertainment’s Richard Suckle (Suicide Squad, American Hustle, The International) and Charles Roven (Suicide Squad, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, American Hustle) will continue to executive produce with Atlas’ Jake Kurily producing. Roven served as producer on the original film.

Currently in its first season, 12 Monkeys has reached 15 million viewers to date, and is experiencing record L3 lifts for the network (average L3 lift is 104%). The renewal also comes as the series continues to gain momentum, with its most recent episode (Friday, March 6) seeing an increase of 6% over the prior four weeks, with 1.5 million total viewers.

“We are absolutely committed to 12 Monkeys, and have been incredibly impressed by the outstanding critical and audience praise the series has earned,” said Dave Howe, Syfy President. “The talent both on and off-screen have delivered a series that has us all on the edge of our seats, providing exactly the smart, exciting storytelling Syfy is known for.”

Jeff Wachtel, President and Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, added, “12 Monkeys is a show that has exceeded expectations at every stage. It’s had a great first season creatively, and is building a dedicated audience. We can’t wait to see where – and when! – Terry and Travis will take us next.”

12 Monkeys stars Aaron Stanford (Nikita, X-Men: The Last Stand, X2), Amanda Schull (Suits, Center Stage) and Kirk Acevedo (Fringe, Oz, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

In this Friday’s episode* – the ninth in the 13-part first season – Cole (Aaron Stanford) finds himself in 2017 at the height of the plague. Out of options, Jones (Barbara Sukowa) faces an impossible choice to replace the Core. 12 Monkeys airs Fridays at 9PM ET/PT; the season one finale will air Friday, April 10.

Syfy has confirmed in a statement to Deadline that they have passed on taking Ascension to series. But what is more interesting is what they said…”We were very happy with Ascension as an event series, but with so much high profile development in the works, we have decided not to pursue a full series,” according to the statement.

What that tells me is that although Ascension did well, Syfy believes that what they have in the pipeline is likely stronger.

I’m still disappointed…Syfy threw a lot at Ascension, and it appeared that they were “all in” for the show. And now we have this twist at the end that may never be resolved. 🙁

While there is some slight hope it could get picked up by another network, the odds are very slim…network hopping is pretty rare as another network is unlikely to be able to make a show work any better than it did on the previous network to risk it.

Industry veteran Katherine Nelson has been named Senior Vice President, Communications for Syfy and Chiller, it was announced today by Dave Howe, President, Syfy and Chiller, to whom Nelson will report.

In her new role, Nelson is responsible for overall communications strategy for Syfy and Chiller, including corporate communications, program publicity and talent relations. New originals on Syfy for 2015 which she will oversee include the scripted drama The Expanse starring Thomas Jane, and event miniseries Childhood’s End, starring Charles Dance. Based in New York, Nelson will oversee the networks’ communications teams in both New York and Los Angeles.

Nelson joins Syfy and Chiller from Esquire Network, a sister network within NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, where she had served as Senior Vice President, Communications since January 2013.

In making the announcement, Howe said: “Katherine is an accomplished communications veteran with a truly unique background and deep experience in promoting high quality, smart, provocative entertainment. She has proven herself to be strategic, creative and collaborative during her tenure at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, and I know she will take Syfy and Chiller’s pioneering press efforts to new heights.”

At Esquire Network, Nelson developed and executed the communications strategy for the network’s debut in September 2013. A member of the core executive team, she contributed to the overall strategic direction of the network and oversaw all publicity and talent relations for its ambitious slate of original series and specials.

Nelson joined Esquire Network and NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment in January 2013 from SpaceX, the pioneering space transport company founded by Elon Musk. As Vice President, Marketing and Communications, she served as chief spokesperson for the company, and oversaw all areas of strategic communications and marketing, including corporate and internal communications, digital and social media, advertising, creative, events and commerce.

Prior to SpaceX, Nelson spent more than 20 years in the television industry. As Vice President of Communications for Discovery Communications’ flagship U.S. network, Discovery Channel, she was the leading strategist in communications planning, media outreach and award campaigns for many of the network’s highest-profile series and specials, including “MythBusters,” “Dirty Jobs” and the groundbreaking “Planet Earth.” Additionally, for more than 15 years, she led the network’s publicity campaign for the iconic “Shark Week” franchise. An acclaimed and award-winning digital strategist, Nelson launched award-winning Twitter brands @Discovery and @MythBusters. Also during her tenure at Discovery Communications, she launched multiple brands including TLC, Animal Planet and Science Channel, and managed communications for several additional networks and initiatives within the Discovery portfolio.

Syfy today announced the appointment of Andie Beckerman to the position of Vice President, Alternative Development and Production.

Beckerman, who developed and oversaw current programming on a wide range of successful unscripted series such as Talking Dead, Comic Book Men and Game of Arms, will be based in the channel’s Los Angeles office.

She will report to Heather Olander, Senior Vice President, Alternative Development and Production, Syfy.

Among her responsibilities, Beckerman will develop and oversee unscripted alternative programming to build upon existing Syfy unscripted hits like Face Off.

In making the announcement, Olander said: “With Andie’s passion for the genre and her keen creative instincts, she’s a tremendous addition to our programming team and to the future growth of the Syfy brand.”

Beckerman joins Syfy from AMC, where she was most recently Director of Development, Unscripted Original Programming. She began her television career at the channel in 2004.

Beckerman graduated from the University of New Orleans with a M.F.A in film production and a B.S. in journalism from Ohio University.

Syfy’s critically acclaimed 12 Monkeys shattered channel records for a series premiere, soaring 85 percent among Adults 18-49, the highest lift ever based on L+3 data.

12 Monkeys delivered 1.0 million Adults 18-49, 1.1 million Adults 25-54 (+73 percent) and 2.3 million total viewers (+73 percent) from its Live+SD deliveries on Friday, January 16.

12 Monkeys also scored the highest Men 18-34 delivery for a Syfy series premiere since Helix in January 2014.

The series, which airs Fridays at 9PM (ET/PT), ranked as a top 10 cable telecast in prime among Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and total viewers.

Inspired by the classic blockbuster film, which commemorates its 20th anniversary next year, 12 Monkeys explores the provocative story of a time traveler from a decimated future in a high-stakes race against the clock. Utilizing a dangerous and untested method of time travel, he journeys from 2043 to the present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will all but annihilate the human race. The series is produced by Universal Cable Productions in association with Atlas Entertainment, producer of the original theatrical film.

12 Monkeys stars Aaron Stanford (as time-traveler Cole), Amanda Schull (Dr. Cassandra Railly), Kirk Acevedo (Ramse), Barbara Sukowa (Jones) and Noah Bean (Aaron Marker). Additional key recurring roles include Tom Noonan (Damages, Hell on Wheels) as a mysterious villain and Emily Hampshire (Rookie Blue) as mental patient Jennifer Goines.