Superheroes are about to take a on a new perspective. SyFy had its eye on two particular new dramas featuring people with abilities, Alphas and Three Inches, over the last year. The network has greenlit Alphas for eleven episodes in addition to the ninety-minute pilot order and still “continues to be interested in” Three Inches, that also has a ninety-minute pilot order.
After a rough start, Alphas which began as a project named Section 8 with BermanBraun Television in 2007, is expected to begin filming early next year in Toronto with a 2011 summer debut. Mark Stern, VP of Original Programming at Syfy loved a new take on the superhero genre, pointing to the fact that Alphas puts a different spin on “the idea of ordinary people who have one slightly extraordinary feature about them and are singularly not so special but together can do extraordinary things.” Check out the show’s synopsis:
“Alphas follows a team of ordinary citizens whose brain anomalies imbue them with extraordinary mental and physical abilities. Taking the law into their own hands, the unlikely team, led by Dr. Lee Rosen (David Strathairn) investigates cases that suggest other Alpha activity to uncover what the CIA, FBI and Pentagon have not been able or willing to solve. These gifted individuals must balance their quirky personalities and disparate backgrounds with their not always visible powers as they work to solve crimes, stop the ticking time bomb and catch the enemy.”
Stern talked about how Alphas is developing:
“With each step in the development and production of Alphas, we knew we were onto something very exciting. Under Gail [Berman] and Lloyd [Braun]’s leadership, [writers] Zak [Penn] and Michael [Karnow] created a smart, fast-paced script that attracted an amazing director in Jack Bender (Lost) and an incredible cast.”
Warren Christie, Malike Yoba, Laura Mennell, Ryan Cartwright, and Azita Ghanizada also star in Alphas. Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica) takes on a guest starring role in the pilot episode.
Three Inches is a drama follows an unlikely superhero – an underachiever who is curiously limited in his telekinetic ability by only being able to move things a distance of three inches. This “hero” recruits others similarly blessed with limited abilities. Three Inches has a cast with geek cred: James Marsters (Dragonball 2, Caprica, Smallville), Andrea Martin (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Not for Nothing), Stephanie Jacobsen (Melrose Place, Battlestar Galactica: Razor), Antony Del Rio (The Superhero Squad Show, God of War: Ghost of Sparta), Naoko Mori (Lennon Naked, Torchwood), Kyle Schmid (Smallville, The Covenant) and Brandon Jay McLaren (Human Target, Being Erica).
Stern calls Three Inches “a fun, smart, off-beat spin on the superhero genre” with “a new group of crime fighters who possess some imaginative – if not all that super – powers.”
Keep it here on SciFiMafia for developing news on Alphas and Three Inches.
