Here’s more news from Syfy‘s Upfront presentation Wednesday night. Syfy is the source of some of my favorite miniseries, so it’s always great news to learn that more are coming. This press release announces book-to-miniseries adaptations of Larry Niven‘s Ringworld and Arthur C. Clarke‘s Childhood’s End.
It also references previously-announced Stephen King‘s Eyes of the Dragon and Philip K. Dick‘s The Man in the High Castle, a nice reassurance that those projects remain on Syfy‘s development slate.
SYFY DEVELOPING TWO CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS TO MINISERIES
LARRY NIVEN’S RINGWORLD FROM MGM TELEVISION AND UNIVERSAL CABLE PRODUCTIONS
ARTHUR C. CLARKE’S CHILDHOOD’S END WITH MICHAEL DELUCA AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND UNIVERSAL CABLE PRODUCTIONS
NEW YORK – April 10, 2013 – Syfy announced today it is developing miniseries based on two of science fiction’s greatest novels: Larry Niven’s Ringworld and Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End. They join the previously announced Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle from Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions, writer/executive producer Frank Spotnitz, Headline Pictures and FremantleMedia International, Stephen King’s Eyes of the Dragon, from Universal Cable Productions (UCP) and Ostar Productions, and Darkfall, also from UCP and Jim Henson Productions, as long form productions.
Adapted by writer Michael Perry (The River, Paranormal Activity 2), Ringworld is based on Niven’s best-selling book and is being developed as a four-hour mini-series Syfy event. The project is a co-production of MGM Television and Universal Cable Productions (UCP), with MGM as the lead studio. Executive producers are William S. Todman Jr. and Edward Milstein.
Childhood’s End will be executive produced by Michael DeLuca (The Social Network) with Universal Cable Productions serving as the studio.
In making the announcement, Mark Stern, President, Original Content, Syfy, and Co-Head, Original Content, Universal Cable Productions, said: “We’re proud to bring to life these science fiction masterpieces, Ringworld and Childhood’s End. With their brilliant scope of imagination, the astonishing visions of these two novels created riveting possibilities into the future of humanity which remain timely and provocative.”
In Ringworld, a hastily-assembled team of explorers travels to the farthest reaches of space to investigate a mind-blowing alien artifact called Ringworld – an artificial habitat the size of one million Earths. As they crash land on this enormous structure, they discover the remnants of ancient civilizations, technology beyond their wildest dreams, mysteries that shed light on the very origins of man and, most importantly, a possible salvation for a doomed Earth.
Childhood’s End follows a peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war and turns the planet into a near-utopia.
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.
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.)
