Sci-Fi Storm

Marking the significant expansion of its popular reality programming, Syfy today announced it is greenlighting three new series: Ghost Mine, Stranded and Notorious Hauntings. This slate builds upon Syfy’s popular paranormal reality programming block led by Ghost Hunters, Paranormal Witness and Haunted Collector.

In making the announcement, Mark Stern, President, Original Content for Syfy and Co-head, Original Content for Universal Cable Productions, said: “Each of these series takes a known and successful formula and turns it on its head. Whether it is eclectic gold miners in the midst of paranormal activity, paranormal enthusiasts self-documenting the most haunted locations in America, or investigators researching and examining history’s most notorious criminals and legends in the world’s most haunted locations, these shows celebrate imagination while further strengthening Syfy’s successful reality brand.”
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Happy Birthday, Syfy! On Monday, December 10 at 9PM (ET/PT), the Channel will celebrate two decades of award-winning, imaginative entertainment programming during the star-studded Syfy 20th Anniversary Special.

From iconic series such as Farscape, Battlestar Galactica and Warehouse 13 to Ghost Hunters, Face Off and the upcoming transmedia experience Defiance, the special will look back on Syfy’s launch and evolution, and ahead to the future through the personal, behind-the-scenes insights of the creative talent themselves.

Said Dave Howe, President, Syfy & Chiller: “For 20 years, Syfy has been the leader in visionary and provocative entertainment programming. In this celebratory special, the extraordinary talent at the heart of the powerful Syfy brand will talk exclusively about the lasting impact Syfy has had on the media landscape for the last two decades.”
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I miss Robot Wars and BattleBots – the shows that brought exciting clashes between remotely controlled devices of destruction (and occasionally self-destruction) to TV. But seldom did they take on any sort of anthropomorphic form like in Real Steel – most were squat devices on wheels with spinning hammers or pneumatic spatulas.

Well, now Syfy has taken a step towards real fighting robots with Robot Combat League, a weekly series hosted by the WWE’s Chris Jericho and will feature eight-feet tall, state-of-the-art humanoid robots controlled by human “robo-jockeys”, competing tournament-style. The show will debut on February 26th at 10pm ET.

The idea of robots in battle has captured the imagination for generations. Now, through ground-breaking engineering, the fusion of a human’s fighting spirit with a powerful robotic machine built for destruction has become a reality. This extraordinary new series will feature twelve teams consisting of a fighter (a “robo-jockey”) and a robotics engineer (a “robo-tech”) from myriad backgrounds including a race car driver, an Olympic athlete, a National Guard helicopter pilot along with a mix of professional fighters and software engineers. Each team is paired with its own unique robot and will fight in a first-of-its kind competition using a high-tech exo-suit that translates their movements to their robot. Each fight consists of three rounds of intense action, with the winning team advancing in the competition.
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Syfy released a couple of announcements today…first up, Ghost Hunters, Syfy’s longest-running original reality series, returns for a ninth season this winter. Sixteen all-new season 9 episodes are slated to premiere beginning January 16, 2013 at 9 PM ET/PT.

Second, just in time for the joyous holiday season, the new Syfy Original Movie ’12 Disasters of Christmas takes on the ancient Mayan prophecy of worldwide destruction at the end of 2012, airing Saturday, December 8th, at 9PM (ET/PT).

More information on both below.
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Syfy will begin airing Continuum, which joins Lost Girl and the upcoming Primeval: New World as acquisitions from Canada, on Monday, January 14th, at 8/7c. Continuum was Canada’s highest-rated scripted basic cable series when it aired recently.

Continuum stars Rachel Nichols (Criminal Minds, Alias) as Kiera Cameron, a cop from the future who finds herself trapped in the present day. When a group of fanatical terrorists escapes their planned execution in 2077 by vaulting back in time to 2012, they inadvertently sweep along Kiera, a dedicated City Protective Services officer.

With unexpected assistance from teen tech genius Alec Sadler, played by Erik Knudsen (Jericho, Scream 4), Kiera infiltrates the local police department and forms an uneasy alliance with her new partner, detective Carlos Fonnegra, portrayed by Victor Webster (Castle, Melrose Place). Though desperate to get back to her husband and son, Kiera concentrates on bringing down the terrorists before they change the course of history.

The January 14 premiere of Continuum will lead into the third season premieres of Syfy’s hit series Being Human at 9PM and Lost Girl at 10PM.

Executive producers of Continuum are Simon Barry (The Art of War), Jeff King (Stargate SG-1, White Collar), Tom Rowe (Tin Man), Pat Williams (Smallville), and Reunion Pictures. Writer: Simon Barry. Director: Jon Cassar (24, Terra Nova).

In addition to the first two seasons for on-air, Syfy has also acquired the U.S. home entertainment rights to Continuum. Universal Studios Home Entertainment will handle the DVD distribution and are targeting a DVD release shortly after the season finale on Syfy.

Here is a a sneak peek for Syfy’s upcoming Saturday Night Movie, Ghost Storm, which stars Battlestar Galactica‘s Aaron Douglas, in which a storm of angry spirits wreak havoc…tune in at 9/8c on Syfy!

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I’m in Toronto for the Syfy Digital Press Tour, and will be visiting the sets of Defiance and Warehouse 13. I’ll be tweeting and taking pictures via Instagram (user scifistorm) as much as possible. And you can also see tweets from myself and other press members below.

Got questions for the cast and crew? Tweet me (@scifistorm) and include the hashtag #syfytour and I will try and ask it during the panel!

Dinner shortly with the Syfy execs and the casts of Haven and Being Human!
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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.

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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