Sci-Fi Storm

What happens when you take three of Police Academy‘s most memorable stars, and pit them against giant lava-breathing spiders? We don’t know yet, but we’re going to find out.

Giant lava breathing tarantulas – Lavalantulas – erupt out of ancient volcanos in the Santa Monica Mountains, raining death and destruction upon Los Angeles, in the new Syfy Original Movie Lavalantula, premiering in Summer 2015.

With the City of Angels on the verge of incineration, only a washed up ‘90s action hero actor, played by Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy, Diner) – joined by Police Academy alumni Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy) and Michael Winslow (Police Academy: The Series) — stand in the way of this monstrous swarm of bloodthirsty creatures who burn their victims alive.

Currently in production in Los Angeles, Lavalantula also co-stars Nia Peeples (The Young and the Restless) and Ralph Garman (KROQ/LA DJ).

Lavalantula will be directed by Mike Mendez, who won a Saturn Award for helming Big Ass Spiders.

Syfy’s 7th annual 31 Days of Halloween spook-a-thon (October 1-31) will unleash 600 hours of spine-tingling programming including the premiere of the docuseries Town of the Living Dead (October 7); the 10th anniversary – and 200th episode – of Ghost Hunters (October 8 and October 22), and three terrifying Original Movies: Dark Haul (October 4), Dead Still (October 6) and Finders Keepers (October 18) – starring Tobin Bell, “Jigsaw” from the iconic Saw franchise.

Among the blood-curdling theatrical movie premieres airing during this year’s scarefest are Shutter (October 5) and the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (October 11).

Syfy’s new series Z Nation, about a band of everyday heroes transporting the only known survivor of a zombie plague to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood, continues its first season Fridays at 10PM (ET/PT). Z Nation stars Harold Perrineau (Oz, Lost) and Tom Everett Scott (Southland, Beauty and the Beast)
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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.

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.

Syfy and Alcon TV yesterday announced that Steven Strait (Magic City) and Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Saddam, House of Sand and Fog) will star in The Expanse, the new 10-episode space opera based on the international best-selling book series, premiering on Syfy in 2015.

Strait plays Holden, an officer on the ice-carrying freighter the Canterbury. Holden is a natural leader who’s not sure he wants responsibility, but who will soon have no choice when he is drawn into a dangerous plot. Strait’s many credits include the movies 10,000 BC and City Island.

Aghdashloo portrays Chrisjen Avasarala, a smart and passionate member of a political family legacy who has risen high in the ranks of Earth’s governing body without once standing for election. In addition to appearing in the long-running TV series 24, Aghdashaloo has starred in films such as X-Men: The Last Stand, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Stoning of Soraya M. She just completed filming on Septembers In Shiraz with Adrien Brody and Salma Hayek, and The Last Knights with Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman.

Earlier, Syfy and Alcon TV announced that three-time Golden Globe nominee Thomas Jane (Hung, The Punisher) will also star as the world-weary Detective Miller, a native of “the Asteroid Belt” between Mars and Jupiter.

The Expanse is a thriller set two hundred years in the future. The series follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective (Thomas Jane) and a rogue ship’s captain (Steven Strait) together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

In making the announcement, Bill McGoldrick, Executive Vice President, Original Content, Syfy, said: “Steven and Shohreh are both outstanding talents who we feel lucky to have in our series.”

Said Sharon Hall, President, Alcon Television: “We knew this material would attract high end talent. Steven Strait embodies the humor, gravitas and humanity that the character of James Holden possesses. Having him alongside Thomas Jane as our leading men is thrilling. The incomparable Shohreh Aghdashloo is our dream Chrisjen Avasarala.”

Award-winning director Terry McDonough (Breaking Bad, Suits, Better Call Saul) will direct the first two episodes.

The Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men, Iron Man) wrote the pilot and will continue to serve as writers as well as executive producers. Fergus and Ostby are showrunners alongside fellow executive producer Naren Shankar (CSI, Farscape).

The wheels of Hollywood turn slowly, but they turn…a mini-series based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End, about a peaceful alien invasion by the mysterious Overlords who put an end to all war and conflict and help the Earth to a near-Utopia state – but no one knows why, is nearing a deal at Syfy.

The six-hour mini was mentioned at Syfy’s 2013 upfronts, but little had been heard since until now. The series would be produced by Michael De Luca (The Social Network, Captain Phillips) and Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, I Am Legend), with Nick Hurran (Doctor Who “Day of the Doctor”) in the director’s chair and Matthew Graham (Doctor Who “The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People”) writing the script.

This may have been the only survivor announced at those upfronts, although I will be scoping out what the status of Ringworld is when I can corner some Syfy execs…

Syfy debuts an exciting new six-episode competition series, Wizard Wars, on Tuesday, August 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, introducing bright and innovative young magicians who must impress judges Penn & Teller with mind-blowing, original magic using only a random assortment of everyday objects.

Innovation takes center stage as the magicians transform objects such as dog treats, leaf blowers, a pirate’s costume and garden gnomes into engaging magic performances before a live audience. Each episode begins with two teams of magicians going head-to-head with a limited amount of time to create an original routine. The winning team will then enter “The Wizard War” and compete against the expert “home team” of world-renowned “Wizards” to battle it out for bragging rights, and a $10,000 prize.

Two-time World Championship of Magic winner Gregory Wilson, Wynn Resort resident magician Shimshi, YouTube sensation and contemporary street illusionist Justin Flom, and internationally renowned mentalist Angela Funovits will compete as the home team. These masterful performers and magic creators cover every discipline in magic from sleight of hand to large-scale stage illusion.

Joining the legendary Penn & Teller on the judging panel is the 2012 winner of BBC’s The Magicians, Jason Latimer, and popular web host Christen Gerhart .

The series premiere features two edgy young American magic creators, Kyle Marlett of Las Vegas, NV and Dalton Wayne of Columbus, OH, against a team of Canada’s best illusionists, Chris Funk and Ekaterina. Their challenge is to take Spam and Super Soakers and incorporate them into a fresh magic performance.

With each episode the magicians will be challenged to continue to push magic to new and greater heights, and the world will be one step closer to discovering the next great contemporary magician. The series is hosted by Ellen Fox.

Wizard Wars is produced by A. Smith & Co. (Hell’s Kitchen). Executive producers are Arthur Smith, Kent Weed, Frank Sinton, Tim Eagan, Penn Jillette and Teller.

A couple more quick items from Syfy…Wendy Crewson (The Santa Clause trilogy) will join the upcoming event series Ascension as Martha Warren, Harris Enzmann’s (played by The Shawshank Redemption‘s Gil Bellows) boss, an elegant woman with a polished exterior, but a formidable adversary.

Ascension is 6-hour event series drama following a covert U.S. space mission launched in the 1960’s that sent hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Half way into their journey, as they approach the point of no return, the mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

In addition, Syfy has put into development Absolute Zero, a futuristic alien invasion drama from Michael Horowitz (Burn Notice), Hypnotic and Universal Cable Productions. Set in 2124, Absolute Zero follows the denizens of a remote mining colony who discover a dangerous new species on a moon of Jupiter, setting off the first stage of an alien invasion ultimately heading for Earth.

Following the social media bonanza that was Sharknado, the sequel, dubbed Sharknado 2: The Second One airs tomorrow on Syfy at 9/8c, and if you’ll be watching, be it part fan, part curiousity, or even part drinking game, you’ll be able to catch the teaser for the upcoming Syfy zombie apocalypse series Z Nation!

Produced by Sharknado producer The Asylum (and the source of many of Syfy’s popular B-movies), Z Nation is an action-horror series about the epic struggle to save humanity after a zombie apocalypse. The cast also includes Michael Welch (The Twilight trilogy), Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show), Anastasia Baranova (The Darkness II), Russel Hodgkingson (Big Fish) and Keith Allan (Rise of the Zombies).

Z Nation starts three years after the zombie virus has gutted the country, when a team of everyday heroes must transport the only known survivor of the plague from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood. Although the antibodies he carries are the world’s last, best hope for a vaccine, he hides a dark secret that threatens them all. With humankind’s survival at stake, the ragtag band embarks on a journey of survival across three thousand miles of rusted-out post-apocalyptic America.

Syfy’s adventure thriller, 12 Monkeys will commence series production August 6 in Toronto, Canada. The season, consisting of 13 episodes, stars Aaron Stanford (as time-traveler Cole), Amanda Schull (Dr. Cassandra Railly), Kirk Acevedo (Ramse) and Noah Bean (Aaron Marker).

Syfy also confirms additional casting, inking Tom Noonan (Damages, Hell on Wheels) and Emily Hampshire (Rookie Blue) for recurring roles.

Noonan portrays a mysterious villain who is the face of the enigmatic Army of the 12 Monkeys. Imposing and intelligent, Noonan’s character will be at the center of the conspiracy. A Yale alumnus and former professor, Noonan is known for his edgy roles, most notably as the “Tooth Fairy” serial killer in the popular Michael Mann film, Manhunter. Noonan is represented by Vanguard Management and AKA Talent Agency.

Hampshire will portray Jennifer Goines, a dangerous, unstable mental patient who might have the key to unraveling the mystery of the 12 Monkeys locked away in her head (the character was male and played by Brad Pitt in the original film). Canadian actress Hampshire has starred in Cosmpolis and will next be seen in the CBC series Schitt’s Creek alongside Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara. Hampshire is represented by Intellectual Artists Management and Creative Drive Artists.

Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven (American Hustle, Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Trilogy) and Richard Suckle (American Hustle, The International), will executive produce. Roven served as producer on the original film. Jake Kurily will serve as Atlas’s executive on the series. Natalie Chaidez (In Plain Sight, V, Heroes) is the executive producer/showrunner and Terry Matalas & Travis Fickett (Nikita), who co-wrote the pilot, will serve as Co-Executive Producers. Jake Kurily will serve as Atlas’s executive on the series. 12 Monkeys is produced by Atlas Entertainment, with Universal Cable Productions.

Inspired by the classic blockbuster film, 12 Monkeys explores the provocative story of Cole (Stanford), 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 will explore the themes of fate, destiny, love and the possibility of second chances.