Brannon Braga’s SALEM Picked Up As First Scripted Series For WGN America


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If you watch sci-fi TV, you’ve seen his name. Brannon Braga has written and produced for Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Threshold, 24, FlashForward, and Terra Nova. It looks like we’ll next be seeing his name in conjunction with a new series that will also be notable for being the first scripted series for WGN America, Salem.

Brannon BragaSet in Massachusetts in the 1600s,  it will, according to the press release, “dare to uncover the dark, supernatural truth hiding behind the veil of this infamous period in American history. In Salem, witches are real, but they are not who or what they seem.   The show, which centers on an epic romance wrapped around this explosive revelation, delivers a bold new vision of Salem – and an even bolder new vision of witches.”

WGN America has ordered 13 episodes of the series which will be entering production this fall, and is planning for a 2014 premiere. The series was created and written by Brannon Braga and Adam Simon, who will serve as executive producers alongside Prospect Park’s Josh Barry and Jeff Kwatinetz. The series will be produced by Fox 21 (Homeland, Sons of Anarchy).

Said Matt Cherniss, President/GM, WGN America, “Brannon and Adam have an amazing vision for the world and characters that comprise Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials and we believe that a great adventure full of supernatural, romance, and action awaits the viewer.”

Fox 21 President Bert Salke calls Salem “a passion project of ours at Fox 21, and (WGN’s) enthusiasm for it was instantaneous and incredibly gratifying. We are excited to be delivering WGN America its inaugural scripted series and look forward to continuing to develop with the network in the years ahead.”

Sounds like everyone is excited about it, and with Braga attached, I’m looking forward to checking it out. I’m also pretty happy to see a new channel embracing Our Kind of Shows enough to make it its first scripted production.  Well done, WGN.

We’ll keep you posted.

Salem will premiere in fall 2014 on WGN.


Erin Willard
Written by Erin Willard

Erin is the Editor In Chief and West Coast Correspondent for SciFiMafia.com