Sci-Fi Storm

A couple of tidbits from Syfy today…first, Syfy has pushed back the premiere date of Happy! for a week, and it will now premiere on Wednesday, December 6th at 10/9c.

Universal Cable Productions’ Happy! is based on New York Times best-selling author Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel of the same name. The series follows Nick Sax (Christopher Meloni, Law & Order: SVU) – an intoxicated, corrupt ex-cop turned hit man – who is adrift in a world of casual murder, soulless sex and betrayal. After a hit gone wrong, his inebriated life is forever changed by a tiny, relentlessly positive, imaginary blue winged horse named “Happy” (Bobby Moynihan, Saturday Night Live).

Also announced are some cast additions to the Tremors reboot pilot.

Emily Tremaine (Vinyl) will play Emily McKee, the recently graduated “whip smart” daughter of Valentine McKee (Kevin Bacon, reprising his role from the original movie.)

Megan Ketch (American Gothic) will play Mindy Sterngood, a young doctor who is fixated on the older Val, but appears to be hiding something…

Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead) will play Nico Garza, who has been just hanging out in Perfection waiting for the opportunity to split, working at Earl’s Graboid Waste Gobbling company.

Syfy will not proceed with a series order for pilot The Machine.

Based on a 2013 British cult film, the series will explores humanity through artificial intelligence when a sentient AI is created, but the military wants to use it for war. Most recently, Battlestar Galactica‘s Katee Sackhoff and Aliens‘ Lance Henriksen were announced to join Jaeden Bettencourt (Hotel Transylvania 2) as the voice of three supercomputers.

Word is that Syfy brass wanted the pilot reworked, and liked the improvement, but not sufficiently to pick it up as a series.

While we were celebrating the renewal of Killjoys for two more runs, we just learned that Dark Matter has been canceled by Syfy. The news was confirmed by co-creator Joseph Mallozzi on his blog.

“It is with great sadness that I confirm the news. Syfy has cancelled Dark Matter after three seasons,” he said.

“To say that I’m incredibly disappointed would be an understatement.

“I’ll save my comments and field your questions in a future blog entry. For today, I just want to extend a heartfelt thanks to my amazing crew, my wonderful cast, and to all of you, our incredible fans.

“You all deserved better.”

Dark Matter starred Melissa O’Neil, Anthony Lemke, Alex Mallari Jr., Zoie Palmer, Jodelle Ferland and Roger Cross and followed the crew of the Raza, who woke up on board with no memory of who they are, and in the middle of a tense galaxy run by corporations. It was based on the graphic novel series from Dark Horse.

Killjoys is coming to an end…but not for a couple more seasons!

SYFY and Space announced today the pickup of Seasons 4 and 5 of the sci-fi adventure series Killjoys ahead of its action-packed Season 3 finale airing tonight at 8/7c. The two-season, 20-episode pickup will act as the final chapters for the fan-favorite space drama. From Temple Street, a division of Boat Rocker Studios, and Universal Cable Productions (UCP), Killjoys follows a trio of interplanetary bounty hunters – rebel leader Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), tech-savvy John Jaqobis (Aaron Ashmore), and tactical D’avin Jaqobis (Luke MacFarlane) – on the brink of a multiplanetary war. Creator Michelle Lovretta serves as executive producer along with Karen Troubetzkoy and Temple Street’s David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg. Season 4 is set to air in 2018.

“Helmed by Lovretta and driven by the superb storytelling, we are excited to bring Killjoys back for two final seasons,” said Bill McGoldrick, Executive Vice President Scripted Development for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “Tonight’s game-changing season finale sets the tone for the final chapters of our bounty hunter’s space adventures and we cannot wait for our talented cast and crew to bring to life what is sure to be an epic journey that will leave our passionate fans on the edge of their seats.”

“A final two-season order is a huge vote of confidence for a show that keeps getting better and better,” said Fortier and Schneeberg, co-presidents of Boat Rocker Studios and executive producers of Killjoys. “We are so proud of the support Killjoys has received from critics and fans alike, and are thrilled to plan a deserving ending for Dutch and the Jaqobis brothers; it has been an incredible intergalactic journey and we could not have wished for better partners to share the ride.”

“This renewal is the kind of privilege every creator hopes for – a chance to plan the end of your story with the luxury of 20-episodes to do it,” said creator and executive producer Lovretta. “I’m immensely grateful that both of our network partners – along with Temple Street and UCP – have given our team, cast and fans this incredible opportunity.”

Throughout Season 3 of Killjoys, war has loomed over the J Star System. As the underdog trio struggled to assemble an army, the dangerous force of Aneela and her Hullen crew drew near. In tonight’s finale, the Killjoy militia are finally ready to go to war against her, using Delle Seyah as bait, but as the battle begins, Aneela finds a way to change the entire game.

Killjoys was created by Michelle Lovretta who serves as executive producer. David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg and Karen Troubetzkoy also serve as executive producers. The series is from Temple Street, a division of Boat Rocker Studios and Universal Cable Productions for Space and SYFY. Universal Cable Productions distributes the series worldwide, excluding Canada.

SYFY announced their upcoming fall and winter schedule, including the premiere of their new original series starring Christopher Meloni, HAPPY! on November 29 at 10/9c. The series, based on New York Times best-selling author Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel of the same name, also features Patton Oswalt as the voice of the imaginary blue winged horse named “Happy.” HAPPY! is produced by Universal Cable Productions.

SCRIPTED ORIGINALS (in order of air date)

CHANNEL ZERO: NO-END HOUSE – Second Installment Premieres Wednesday, September 20 at 10/9c

Inspired by Brian Russell’s “creepypasta” tale, CHANNEL ZERO: NO-END HOUSE tells the story of a young woman named Margot Sleator, played by Amy Forsyth (“The Path”), and her best friend Jules (Aisha Dee “The Bold Type”), who visit the No-End House, a bizarre house of horrors that consists of a series of increasingly disturbing rooms. When Margot returns home, she realizes everything has changed. The second six-hour installment will be directed by Steven Piet (“Uncle John”). Franchise creator Nick Antosca (“Hannibal,” “Teen Wolf”) will return as executive producer and showrunner; Max Landis (“Chronicle,” “American Ultra”) will also executive produce.

HAPPY! – Series Premiere Wednesday, November 29 at 10/9c

Universal Cable Productions’ HAPPY! is based on New York Times best-selling author Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson’s graphic novel of the same name. The series follows Nick Sax (Christopher Meloni, “Law & Order: SVU”) – an intoxicated, corrupt ex-cop turned hit man – who is adrift in a world of casual murder, soulless sex and betrayal. After a hit gone wrong, his inebriated life is forever changed by a tiny, relentlessly positive, imaginary blue winged horse named “Happy” (Patton Oswalt). Executive producers Morrison (“Batman,” “The Invisibles”) and Brian Taylor (“Crank,” “Gamer”) co-wrote the pilot teleplay. Neal Moritz, Pavun Shetty and Toby Jaffe of Original Film (“The Fast and the Furious” franchise), Meloni and showrunner Patrick Macmanus will also executive produce. Taylor directed the pilot.

CO-PRODUCTIONS/ ACQUISITIONS (in order of air date)

CON MAN – Television Debut of Web Series Airs Saturday, September 9 at 10/9c

The short form web series, which debuted on Vimeo and Comic-Con HQ, will have its television debut with a Season 1 marathon on Saturday, September 9th beginning at 10/9c showing all 13 episodes back-to-back. The critically acclaimed, geektastic series, which recently received two Emmy® nominations for Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, follows the journey of Wray Nerely (Alan Tudyk), a washed-up, former sci-fi celebrity who revisits his glory days on the convention circuit. The series is executive produced by Tudyk, PJ Haarsma and Nathan Fillion, who also co-stars. The star-studded first season also features Seth Green, Felicia Day, Sean Astin, James Gunn, Tricia Helfer and many more.

Z NATION – Season 4 Premieres Friday, September 29 at 9/8c

Z NATION follows a team of everyday heroes, led by Lieutenant Warren (Kellita Smith), during their epic struggle to save humanity. Season 4 begins with a mind-bending jump in time. Murphy and Warren find themselves alive in Zona, the zombie free playground for billionaires. Meanwhile, the rest of our heroes are fighting alongside the last of the humans against the mutated Zombie Virus and the unkillable “MAD-Z’s.” Warren’s mysterious dream of a black rainbow and flesh-eating black rain propels the season forward and puts our heroes in the middle of an even worse Zompocalypse. Here they will have to battle Jugalo Zombies and find the Zombified President of the United States – or at least his thumb. Produced by The Asylum, Z NATION stars Kellita Smith, Keith Allan, DJ Qualls, Anastasia Baranova, Russell Hodgkinson, Nat Zang, Joseph Gatt, Emilio Rivera and Matt Cedeño.

VAN HELSING – Season 2 Premieres Thursday, October 5 at 9/8c

VAN HELSING stars Kelly Overton (“True Blood”) as Vanessa Van Helsing, a descendent of the Van Helsing lineage who must lead mankind against a world controlled by vampires in the post-Rising apocalypse. In Season 2, Vanessa and the other survivors discover old alliances have crumbled, and new connections expose long-buried secrets about The Rising, the Van Helsing heritage and the survival of humankind itself.

GHOST WARS – Series Premiere Thursday, October 5 at 10/9c

Created by Simon Barry, the horror series GHOST WARS is set in a remote Alaskan town that has been overrun by paranormal forces. Local outcast Roman Mercer (Avan Jogia, “Tut,” “Victorious”) must overcome the town’s prejudices and his own personal demons to harness his repressed psychic powers in order to save everyone from the mass haunting threatening to destroy them all. GHOST WARS is produced by Nomadic Pictures. Chad Oakes and Mike Frislev (“Fargo,” “Van Helsing,” “Hell On Wheels”), Simon Barry (“Continuum”), Dennis Heaton (“Motive”) and David Von Ancken (“Code Black”) serve as executive producers. The series also stars Vincent D’Onofrio (“The Judge,” “Daredevil”), Kim Coates (“Sons of Anarchy”), Kandyse McClure (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, “Hemlock Grove”), Kristin Lehman (“Motive”) and Meatloaf (“Fight Club”).

SUPERSTITION – Series Premiere Friday, October 6 at 10/9c

The series centers on the Hastings family, owners of the only funeral home in the mysterious town of La Rochelle, Georgia. The family also acts as the keepers of the town’s dark secrets and history. Known for its haunted houses, elevated graveyards, odd townsfolk and rich history of unusual phenomena, the town is also a “landing patch” for the world’s darkest manifestations of fear, guided into the world by an ancient, mysterious malefactor. XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon and MVPTV’s Mario Van Peebles (“Roots,” “Bloodline,” “Hand of God,” “Empire,” “Lost”) will produce, and Van Peebles will also write, direct and star in some of the episodes. Joel Anderson Thompson (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, “Boomtown,” “House M.D.”) has been tapped as showrunner, and Laurence Andries (“Alias,” “Six Feet Under,” “Supernatural,” “The Pacific”) will executive produce.

ALTERNATIVE (in order of air date)

GAME FACE – Airing Tuesdays at 9/8c

SYFY’s all-new FACE OFF spinoff series, GAME FACE premiered on Tuesday, August 22 and will air Tuesdays at 9/8c. The seven-episode series is based on SYFY’s award-winning FACE OFF with an electrifying new twist. GAME FACE will feature former FACE OFF all-stars as they go head-to-head each week, with multiple make-up reveals and eliminations throughout each exciting episode. Every week, four artists will race against the clock to complete three challenges, with eliminations after every round, but only one artist will walk away with the $10,000 prize. McKenzie Westmore, a member of a multi-generational family dynasty whose name is synonymous with the make-up effects field, will host alongside the renowned judges, multiple Academy Award winner Ve Neill (“Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Hunger Games”) and Academy Award® winner Rick Baker (“Star Wars,” “The Exorcist”). GAME FACE will also feature a panel of rotating guest judges which includes Emmy Award winner Eryn Krueger Mekash (“The People V. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story,” “American Horror Story”), industry veteran Glenn Hetrick (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Spider-Man 3”) and creature designer Neville Page (“Avatar,” “Prometheus”). GAME FACE is a production of Mission Control Media with Dwight D. Smith, Michael Agbabian and Ian Mallahan serving as executive producers.

The stars of SYFY’s The Expanse attended San Diego Comic-Con to celebrate what NPR hails as the “best science fiction show in a decade.” Executive Producers Naren Shankar and Mark Fergus as well as cast members Steven Strait, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham and Frankie Adams discussed Season 2’s most shocking moments and gave fans an inside look at what to expect from Season 3.

In addition, they announced Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost, Revolution) joining the cast in a recurring role in Season 3. New episodes from Alcon Television Group will return to SYFY in 2018.

Today, SYFY and IDW Entertainment announced the renewal of the breakout supernatural series Wynonna Earp for third season, expected to premiere in 2018. The announcement was made during the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con, which was attended by cast members Melanie Scrofano, Shamier Anderson, Tim Rozon, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Katherine Barrell, Varun Saranga, Tamara Duarte, along with showrunner and creator Emily Andras and comic book creator Beau Smith. Moderated by UPROXX’s Donna Dickens, the cast revealed behind-the-scenes antics and more details about the biggest hidden secret of the season – writing in Melanie Scrofano’s real-life pregnancy, which made Wynonna Earp the first pregnant superhero. Die-hard Earpers got to see an exclusive trailer for the remainder of the season, and were surprised by the Season 3 renewal announcement made on stage by IDW Entertainment President, David Ozer.

“Fans have been passionately embracing Wynonna Earp since its debut,” said Ozer. “SYFY recognized that passion and when coupled with superior writing, acting, directing and production values, saw that Wynonna Earp was more than just a distinctly unique television series. We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with SYFY and look forward to another fun season of incredible entertainment with the cast and crew of Wynonna Earp.”

“We are so excited have this strong female-led, witty action series return for another season and deliver something special to our passionate fans around the world,” added Andras.

Produced in Calgary by SEVEN24 Films and globally distributed by IDW Entertainment, Wynonna Earp follows legendary lawman Wyatt Earp’s descendant, Wynonna (Scrofano) who inherits his mystical gun, Peacemaker. With it, Wynonna and her posse of dysfunctional allies must fight against supernatural beings and other paranormal occurrences in a raucous, whisky-soaked struggle to break her family’s demonic curse. Andras (Lost Girl, Killjoys) developed the wildly imaginative series for television and serves as Executive Producer and Showrunner. SEVEN24’s Jordy Randall and Tom Cox serve as Executive Producers along with IDW CEO & Publisher Ted Adams and Ozer, as well as Todd Berger and Rick Jacobs.

Wynonna Earp is currently airing Fridays at 10/9c on SYFY.

SYFY LIVE FROM COMIC-CON hosted by Zachary Levi kicks off tonight with special guests including the cast of Battlestar Galactica, Mercedes Mason from “Fear the Walking Dead” and PSYCH star James Roday. The party kicks off at 11/10c on SYFY!

Check out the full line up below along with a sneak peek of tonight’s cold open:

THURSDAY, JULY 20TH
James Roday (Psych)
Adam Scott and Craig Robinson (Ghosted)
John Dimaggio (Futurama)
Mercedes Mason (Fear of The Walking Dead)
Adam Savage (Mythbusters)
Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Trucco, Tahmoh Penikett and Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica)

SYFY LIVE FROM COMIC-CON COLD OPEN, THURSDAY, JULY 20:

For the full SYFY SDCC schedule please click here.

Syfy Films today announces the release of the upcoming sci-fi film Realive, in theaters on September 29 and on VOD and Digital HD on October 3. The film is written and directed by Mateo Gil (Vanilla Sky, The Sea Inside). The cast includes Tom Hughes (About Time, London Town), Charlotte Le Bon (The Walk, The Hundred-Foot Journey), Oona Chaplin (Taboo, Game of Thrones) and Barry Ward (The Fall, The Journey). Realive premiered at the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal followed by official selections of the FrightFest Film Festival in the U.K. and Sitges International Film Festival in Spain.

In Realive, Marc Jarvis (Tom Hughes) is diagnosed with a disease and given a short time to live. Unable to accept his own end, he decides to freeze his body. 60 years later, in the year 2084, he becomes the first cryogenically frozen man to be revived in history. Marc discovers a startling future, but the biggest surprise is that his past has accompanied him in unexpected ways.

Realive is produced by Ibon Cormenzana and Ignasi Estapé of Arcadia Motion Pictures, in coproduction with Jérôme Vidal of Noodles. Marina Fuentes of Dreamcatchers acted as associate producer.

For more information on the film, please visit https://www.facebook.com/RealiveMovie/

SYFY announced today that Tremors, starring Kevin Bacon reprising his original role from the 1990 film of the same name, has been ordered to pilot. From Universal Cable Productions, the drama was written by Andrew Miller (The Secret Circle), who will also serve as showrunner and executive producer along with Bacon and David Schiff (Southpaw) in association with Blumhouse Television.

“This is the only character I’ve played that I’ve ever thought about revisiting. I just got to thinking, where would this guy end up after 25 years?” commented Bacon. “Andrew Miller has a fantastic take on it and we hope to create a show that will be fun and scary for fans of the movie and folks that have yet to discover it. Let’s kick some Graboid ass!”

The killer Graboid worms that nearly destroyed Perfection, Nevada 25 years ago are back, and the town’s only hope for survival is Valentine McKee (Bacon) who beat them once. But to do it again he’ll have to overcome age, alcohol and a delusional hero complex.

“We are so pleased to continue our partnership with SYFY and UCP in reviving this cult classic with none other than Kevin Bacon as Valentine McKee; we look forward to thrilling original fans and new audiences alike,” commented Blumhouse founder, Jason Blum.

Tremors, based on the 1990 movie, spawned 4 direct-to-video sequel movies (and a 5th currently filming) as well as a short-lived series on then-SCI FI Channel in 2003 which followed the further tales of one of the other stars of the movie, Burt Gummer (played by Michael Gross).