Syfy to Launch Space Opera Miniseries Ascension in Late 2014

Syfy has announced the pickup of Ascension, a six-episode miniseries from Smallville‘s Phillip Levens. The series, which will be the network’s first attempt at a miniseries in five years, tells the story of a cover space mission that begins in 1963, as hundreds of men, women, and children are launched on a century-long mission to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years later, though, the murder of a young girl causes those on board the starship Ascension to question the validity of their mission and whether they’re truly as safe as they thought they were.

Said Syfy President Dave Howe, “Syfy is more committed than ever to bringing to life epic event television. We have a rich history in this arena, from Steven Spielberg’s Taken to the highly acclaimed mini that launched the Battlestar Galactica series, to reimagined takes on classic tales such as Alice and Tin Man. In keeping with that grand tradition, we are delighted to bring this thrilling, provocative and intelligent event to our fans later this year.”

The pickup of Ascension, something that could turn into a series order in the vein of Battlestar Galactica, is a part of Syfy’s recent vow to reembrace harder science fiction, specifically space operas, and move away from the lighter fare that they’ve been producing since their rebranding. Also a part of said effort are Defiance and Helix, two series that might not have made it onto the network a few years ago. Now the former is heading into its second season and the latter has found a pretty decent foothold on Fridays, meaning that the audience is hungry for a style they long thought dead at Syfy.

Ascension will premiere this coming November and air through December.

Will you be watching Ascension? Is this the type of programming that the network should be going after? What type of miniseries would you like to see Syfy tackle next?