Yes, we DID tell you about the three new shows that Syfy has picked up to series within the last week, and now we have a fourth: The Expanse, based on a book series of the same name by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S. A. Corey.
In fact, in enumerating the recently announced new shows in the press release below, Syfy President Dave Howe didn’t even mention the two that were announced on Monday. Too many to keep track of? Or are Z Nation and Olympus not part of “a killer line-up of high-concept, high quality series”? Hmm.
Anyway, this one is set in space, so I’m already ready to watch. Here are the details:
April 11, 2014
SYFY DIVES INTO THE EXPANSE WITH STRAIGHT-TO-SERIES GREENLIGHT FOR EPIC SPACE OPERA PRODUCED BY ALCON TELEVISION GROUP
HOUR-LONG SCI-FI DRAMA WRITTEN BY MARK FERGUS AND HAWK OSTBY IS BASED ON BEST-SELLING BOOK SERIES
NEW YORK – APRIL 11, 2014 – Syfy continues to ramp up its slate of ambitious and high quality scripted series with a straight-to-series greenlight for space-opera project The Expanse, it was announced today by Syfy President, Dave Howe. The 10-episode order is Syfy’s boldest new series commitment to date. The Expanse is produced by Alcon Television Group (ATG), a division of Alcon Entertainment, and marks the company’s first series order.
Academy Award-nominated screenwriting duo Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men, Iron Man) wrote the pilot; they will continue to serve as writers, as well as executive producers.
A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.
Said Howe, “‘The Expanse’ is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy‘s most ambitious series to date. Bringing this coveted book franchise to television with our partners at Alcon and the Sean Daniel Company is a giant win for Syfy, reinforcing our overall strategy to produce bold, provocative and compelling sci-fi fantasy stories. ‘The Expanse‘ joins a killer line-up of high-concept, high quality series, along with recently announced original projects ‘Ascension,’ ’12 Monkeys,’ the renewal of ‘Helix,’ and the soon to premiere ‘Dominion.’”
ATG President Sharon Hall states, “‘The Expanse’ is an addictive, sophisticated, character-driven franchise and Mark and Hawk are the perfect people to steer it. Their script is a totally immersive and accessible sci-fi journey. We are thrilled to be in business with Syfy on this venture.”
Brown and Daniel state: “‘The Expanse’ is one of the most special pieces of material we’ve ever encountered and it has been our dream to bring it to life since the moment we read it. We couldn’t be more excited to be doing it with this team of all-stars – Mark, Hawk, and our partners at Alcon and Syfy.”
Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will serve as executive producers with Sharon Hall. Alcon Television executive Ben Roberts will serve as co-producer. Ben Cook will serve as producer.
Sean Daniel (Graceland, The Mummy) and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Company developed the original pitch, with Fergus and Ostby, and will also executive produce.
Developed with the Sean Daniel Company as a direct-to-series project, Alcon is financing and executive producing the hour-long, ten episode series, based on the popular New York Times bestselling book series collectively known as The Expanse, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (under the pen name James S. A. Corey). Abraham and Franck will be show producers.
The multi-installment, best-selling book series is published in 17 countries, including China, France, Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. One in the series, “Leviathan Wakes,” was nominated for a Hugo Award as well as a Locus Award, while “Caliban’s War” was nominated for a Locus Award.
As the sole studio, Alcon retains the much-in-demand worldwide distribution rights. Alcon is currently out to cast and directors.
Fergus and Ostby are repped by CAA and Mark Gochman.
About Alcon Entertainment
Alcon Entertainment co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson founded the Company in 1997 with financial backing from Frederick W. Smith, the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx. Alcon, which is named after a mythological archer and ally of Hercules, has financed, and/or co-financed/produced over 19 films, including “My Dog Skip,” “Dude, Where’s My Car?” “Insomnia,” “Racing Stripes,” the Academy Award nominated Best Picture “The Blind Side,” which earned Sandra Bullock a Best Actress Oscar; “The Book of Eli,” starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman; “Insomnia,” starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank and directed by Chris Nolan; “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “P.S. I Love You,” starring Hilary Swank, and the box-office success “Dolphin Tale,” a 3-D family film starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson.
Alcon’s next film is Academy Award winner Wally Pfister’s directorial debut, “Transcendence,” starring Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall and Morgan Freeman; the film will be released on April 18, 2014 via their output deal with Warner Bros. Alcon’s most recent film was the critically acclaimed box-office success “Prisoners,” a dramatic thriller about abduction directed by Denis Villeneuve starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, Terrance Howard and Paul Dano. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released via Alcon’s output deal with Warner Bros. on September 20, 2013.
Alcon Television is currently producing the drama pilot “Hysteria” with Shaun Cassidy and Adam Schroeder for Amazon, as well as, a four-hour mini-series documentary for HBO on the life and times of Frank Sinatra. Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney is directing the series documentary. Executive producers are five-time Oscar nominated producer Frank Marshall (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Bourne” franchise, “Seabiscuit,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Nancy Sinatra and Charles Pignone, and Alcon’s Hall, and Co-founders and Co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.
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 (http://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 a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
