Although we would have been astounded if it hadn’t happened, it’s always nice to get the confirmation: Syfy has renewed its giant original production cross-platform transmedia series Defiance for a second season. This is great news for we fans of the St. Louis-based series, as well as for the gamers working away over in the San Francisco-based game. Here’s the press release:

SYFY RENEWS HIT SERIES DEFIANCE, PROMISING MORE ACTION AND INTRIGUE IN SEASON TWO

April 15 Premiere Second Largest Series in Network History

New York, NY – May 10, 2013 – Syfy has renewed its groundbreaking series Defiance, giving a 13-episode second season order to the critically acclaimed hit that has catapulted Syfy to the top cable drama spot in the time period among adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers for three consecutive Mondays. Season two of Defiance, produced by Universal Cable Productions, will begin production in Toronto in August for a 2014 premiere, returning as the anchor of Syfy’s Powerful Monday’s block of primetime original series.

Redefining the transmedia experience, Defiance has distinguished itself with an unprecedented partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds, by creating the first-ever true convergence of television and online gaming. To date, the game has garnered more than 1 million registered accounts while making gaming history as the first online open world shooter to launch on three platforms simultaneously. As the collaboration between show and game continue into a second season, players will have the opportunity to further influence the world of Defiance.

Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica, Hellcats) resumes his role as executive producer and showrunner. Smallville’s Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin return as executive producers for season two and Michael Taylor serves as consulting producer.

“Bringing the rich world of Defiance to life has been in incredible team effort. We couldn’t ask for better partners than Kevin Murphy, his amazing cast and crew, and Trion Worlds,” said Mark Stern, President of Original Content for Syfy and Co-Head of Original Content for UCP. “We can’t wait to see where they take us in the second season.”

Set in the near future, Defiance features an exotically transformed planet Earth, its landscapes permanently altered following the sudden – and tumultuous – arrival of seven unique alien races. In this somewhat unknown and unpredictable landscape, the richly diverse, newly-formed civilization of humans and aliens must learn to co-exist peacefully. Each week, viewers follow an immersive character drama set in the boom-town of Defiance, which sits atop the ruins of St. Louis, Missouri, while in the game, players will experience the new frontier of the San Francisco Bay area.

The audience for its April 15 premiere was the second largest series premiere in the network’s history among adults 18-49, making it the biggest in nearly nine years in that coveted demographic, based on Live +7 Data. The premiere also delivered almost 4 million viewers (3,834,000) and has quickly become Syfy’s highest-rated original series this year in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers. It has also received unprecedented attention as a transmedia event in partnership with Trion Worlds’ MMO game. Airing Mondays at 9pm, Defiance stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Graham Greene and Mia Kirshner.

About Syfy
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)

About Universal Cable Productions
Universal Cable Productions creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across multiple media platforms and outlets for domestic and international distribution. UCP produces “Covert Affairs,” “Psych,” “Royal Pains” and “Suits” for USA; “Defiance,” and “Warehouse 13” for Syfy and “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” for distribution on Machinima Prime/YouTube, Syfy and DVD/Blu-Ray. Universal Cable Productions is a division of NBCUniversal.

Defiance, starring Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, and Graham Greene, airs Mondays at 9/8c on Syfy.