From Philip Levens (Smallville), Ascension takes place on a self-sustaining generation ship that was launched in a Cold War panic. Initially populated by 600 men, women, and children, the Ascension’s journey is to last for 100 years, with the goal being populating a new world, thereby assuring the survival of the human race. However, halfway into the covert mission, the murder of a young woman causes those aboard to doubt the validity of what their lives have been dedicated to and question the real reason they’re on board the ship in the first place. Could there be an ulterior motive to the Ascension mission that goes beyond population salvation?

Ascension stars Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town) as William Denninger, Captain of the Ascension; Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Viondra Denninger, William’s dangerous power broker wife who uses her position as leverage in matters on the ship; Andrea Roth (Rescue Me) as Dr. Juliet Bryce, the head doctor on the Ascension and someone whose relationship with their daughter worsens after word of the murder breaks; Brandon P. Bell (Hollywood Heights) as First Officer Oren Gault, tasked with investigating the murder; and Gil Bellows (The Shawshank Redemption) as Harris Enzman, son of the founder of the Ascension mission.

Ascension is set to premiere Monday, November 24th at 9:00 on Syfy.

Will you be watching Ascension? Is this the type of programming that you’d like to see more of from Syfy? Could this miniseries feasibly be transitioned into a weekly series?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbikcyKO7Eg

The post Ascension Trailer: A Lifeboat for Humanity appeared first on TVHackr.

Developed by Rockne S. O’Bannon (Revolution), Kevin Murphy (Caprica), and Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica), Defiance centers on the town formerly known as St. Louis, Missouri as it deals with tension between humans and several extraterrestrial races. The series stars Grant Bowler (Ugly Betty), Julie Benz (Dexter), Stephanie Leonidas (MirrorMask), Tony Curran (Gladiator), and Jaime Murray (Warehouse 13).

From Vaun Wilmott (Sons of Anarchy), Dominion takes place in a world 25 years removed from a war between archangels Gabriel (Carl Beukes) and Michael (Tom Wisdom), with the latter having sided with the humans while the former leads a band of lower angels in the battle for supremacy. Resulting from the battle were fortified cities protecting the humans from the angels until the day the prophesied savior of mankind grows into his power. In addition to Beukes and Wisdom, Dominion stars Christopher Egan (Kings), Roxanne McKee (Game of Thrones), Luke Allen-Gale (The Borgias), Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Alan Dale (Lost).

Defiance and Dominion are a part of Syfy’s growing scripted slate that will be geared toward harder, more serious pieces of science fiction. The network currently has conspiracy drama The Expanse, alien terrorism drama Hunters, time travel drama 12 Monkeys, adventure drama Killjoys, and mythology drama Olympus all ordered to series and slated to premiere over the next couple of years.

Both Defiance and Dominion will return for their 13-episode new seasons sometime next summer on Syfy.

Will you be watching the next seasons of Defiance and Dominion? Would you like to see the two paired together again next summer? Are you liking this new creative direction that Syfy has been going over the past year or so?

The post Defiance and Dominion Renewed by Syfy appeared first on TVHackr.

“We were so impressed by the pilot script from this outstanding and accomplished creative team led by Gale Anne Hurd and Natalie Chaidez that we bypassed the traditional process and greenlit Hunters directly to series,” said Syfy president Dave Howe. This fast-paced and innovative program takes viewers inside a chilling yet all too familiar world.”

Based on Whitley Strieber’s novel Alien Hunter and adapted for television by Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead) and Natalie Chaidez (12 Monkeys), Hunters follows a Philadelphia cop as he searches for his missing wife. Along the way, though, he discovers a terrorist cell featuring those who may not be from this world. No casting has been revealed as of yet, though word of who’ll be starring in the project should leak in the coming months.

Hunters joins a growing scripted slate for Syfy, as the network looks to rebrand with harder, more serious-minded science fiction. Among the projects the network has recently ordered to series are futuristic conspiracy drama The Expanse, time travel drama 12 Monkeys, adventure drama Killjoys, and mythology drama Olympus. Syfy has also premiered two original dramas in 2014 with post-apocalyptic angel saga Dominion and zombie drama Z Nation.

Hunters is slated to premiere on Syfy in 2016.

Will you be watching Hunters? Do you think the show will fit in with the rest of Syfy’s scripted programs? Are you a fan of the network’s attempted rebrand?

The post Syfy Orders Alien Terrorism Drama Hunters to Series appeared first on TVHackr.

Kicking things off will be the fifth season premiere of Haven Thursday, September 11th at 10:00. It’s a new night for the series, which has been renewed for a 26-episode fifth season, and one that finds Duke fighting to contain the Troubles within him and Nathan facing the possibility that Audrey is gone forever. Replacing Haven on Fridays this fall is zombie drama Z Nation, which showcases a world three years removed from the outbreak of the zombie virus. In the series, which stars the likes of DJ Qualls and Harold Perrineau, a team of unlikely heroes transports the first known case of someone surviving a zombie bite from New York to California, with hope that a cure is on the horizon.

The network will premiere new unscripted series Town of the Living Dead on Tuesday, October 7th at 10:00. The series follows the goings-on in Jasper, Alabama as a group of town residents are determined to complete the zombie movie they’ve been working on for the past six years. Also in the unscripted realm is the 10th season return of Ghost Hunters on Wednesday, October 8th; the team is set to travel to Brunswick, Georgia’s Old City Hall and Elizabeth V. Edwards Elementary School in Barnegat, New Jersey, as well as return to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia, over the course of the season.

Highly anticipated miniseries Ascension will be the final fall premiere for Syfy, bowing Monday, November 24th at 9:00. The series tells the story of a space mission launched in the 1960’s that sent hundreds on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension and how, halfway into the mission, a murder could change everything.

Finally, two Syfy movies will be premiering during October – Dark Haul, about a team of guardians tasked with transporting a deadly creature and its human half-sister to a secure location; and Finders Keepers, which stars Jaime Pressly and focuses on a child who becomes obsessed with an evil doll left by the previous occupants of her home.

Thursday, September 11th
10:00 Haven

Friday, September 12th
10:00 Z Nation

Tuesday, October 7th
10:00 Town of the Living Dead

Wednesday, October 8th
9:00 Ghost Hunters

Monday, November 24th
9:00 Ascension

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvJoqyKoW8c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMdvVh89wN8

The post Syfy Announces Fall 2014 Schedule appeared first on TVHackr.

Based on the 1995 Terry Gilliam feature film and adapted for television by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (Nikita), 12 Monkeys tells the story of a time traveler (Aaron Stanford) from the post-apocalyptic future who travels back to present day to locate and destroy the source of a devastating plague. Once he arrives, though, he learns that his mission will be more difficult than he anticipated and could possibly cost numerous innocent lives in order to be completed.

In addition to Stanford, 12 Monkeys stars Amanda Schull (Suits), Kirk Acevedo (Oz), and Noah Bean (Damages). The series is the latest piece in Syfy’s plan to re-embrace harder science fiction, an agenda that began this year with the premieres of Helix and Dominion. Once home to lighter fare like Eureka and Warehouse 13, the network has a six-episode miniseries set aboard a space craft coming this November, with adaptations of The Expanse and The Magicians already in the works.

12 Monkeys is set to premiere January 2015 on Syfy. A concrete premiere date should be released later this year.

Will you be watching 12 Monkeys? Do you think the show will be able to find an audience on Syfy? Are you looking forward to Syfy continuing to re-embrace darker, harder science fiction?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPNHIz1-8aM

The post 12 Monkeys Trailer: Everybody Is Already Dead appeared first on TVHackr.

Adapted for television by Vaun Wilmot (Sons of Anarchy), Dominion acts as something of a sequel to Legion, taking place 25 years following the events of the film and finding the world as we know it shattered by a war between the angels, led by archangel Gabriel, and mankind, led by traitorous archangel Michael. Cities housing the human survivors have been formed out of the ruins of the war, though they’re victimized by political unrest and two houses vying for power in a world where power comes at a premium. The series will follow the journey of a rebellious young soldier (Christopher Egan) who discovers that he’s the savior of humanity – the Chosen One.

In addition to Egan, Dominion stars Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Alan Dale (Lost), Tom Wisdom (300), Luke Allen-Gale (The Borgias), and Roxanne McKee (Game of Thrones).

The series premiere of Dominion airs tonight at 9:00 on Syfy. You can check out additional teasers for the series here, here, and here.

Will you be watching Dominion? How do you think the series will compare to Legion? Does Dominion look like a fair enough companion for Defiance?

The post Dominion Preview: War is Coming appeared first on TVHackr.

The aptly dubbed “Sharknado” Week begins July 26th and runs through August 2nd, with Sharknado 2 airing on Wednesday, July 30th, Variety is reporting.

Shark-related programming during the week will include Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark, Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda, and Sharkmania: The Top 15 Biggest Baddest Bloodiest Bites.

Last summer Sharknado became a Twiter sensation, prompting roughly 5,000 tweets per minutes at points.  The film’s sequel will unleash a Sharkado on New York City and its most loved iconic sites.  Ian Ziering and Tara Reid will return to starring roles.

The film also stars Mark McGrath, Kari Wuhrer, Vivica A. Fox, and Judah Friedlander, with cameo appearances by Kelly Osbourne, Judd Hirsch, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Andy Dick, and Perez Hilton.  

The post Syfy to Debut First ‘Sharknado’ Week appeared first on TVHackr.

First up is Dominion, a sort-of sequel to the 2010 supernatural action/horror flick Legion. Scott Stewart, the film’s co-writer and director, will executive produce the series, which picks up roughly a quarter century after the events of the film.

The battle between feuding archangels Gabriel and Michael has raged for decades, effectively creating an end to standard human civilization, outside of several fortified cities that take every precaution to protect the few people still alive. Cast members include Christopher Egan (Kings), Tom Wisdom (Pirate Radio), Roxanne McKee (Game of Thrones), Alan Dale (Lost), and Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwpWLH4_cbU

Second on the docket is Ascension, a six-hour event series set in an alternate version of Earth, one in which President John F. Kennedy launched a classified mission in 1963 that sent hundreds of Americans into space on the titular starship. The objective was to find other inhabitable planets in the galaxy, and colonize them. Now, 50 years into the journey, someone or something is threatening their continued survival. Space opera vet Tricia Helfer (BattleStar Galactica) toplines the cast. Ascension will mark Syfy’s first miniseries venture since 2009.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpDVwfiLNRM

Dominion premieres Thursday, June 19 at 9/8c. Ascension bows this November, and will run through December. Another high profile upcoming project, an adaptation of the critically acclaimed 1995 Terry Gilliam film 12 Monkeys, has been scheduled for January 2015, and stars Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull, and Noah Bean.

The post Syfy Releases Trailers for ‘Dominion’ and ‘Ascension’ appeared first on TVHackr.

Chris Regina, Senior Vice President, Programming, Syfy, said: “Z Nation is a unique new journey into the long established zombie genre. Instead of existential despair, the series offers hope that somehow, some way, humanity will not only survive, but triumph. In producing their first ever weekly series, our long-time partners The Asylum have created a different way of telling an iconic story.”

From The Asylum (Sharknado), Z Nation takes place in a world where the zombie virus has gutted the human population for three years. A team of everyday heroes is tasked with transporting the only known survivor of the plague across the country to a lab where his blood would be studied and a cure would be sought. However, what the team handling him doesn’t know is that he has a secret that threatens each and every one of them. No casting has been announced as of yet.

It’s been a busy time for Syfy, as the network has quickly been replenishing its ranks following the conclusion of Being Human. The network has recently picked up a second season of Ron Moore’s Helix, as well as ordered mythology drama Olympus, space opera event series Ascension, and an adaptation of Bruce Willis feature 12 Monkeys to series. The next new scripted series the network will debut is Dominion, an adaptation of 2010 feature Legion, on Thursday, June 19th.

Z Nation will premiere sometime this fall on Syfy.

Will you be watching Z Nation? Do you think all the recent series orders mean bad things for Bitten and Lost Girl? Are you excited about Syfy going back to harder science fiction in the vein of Battlestar Galactica?

The post Syfy Orders Zombie Drama Z Nation to Series appeared first on TVHackr.

“Olympus is a fantastic blend of action, intense thrills, creatures and great story telling.  It will feature characters from mythology in a way never before imagined,” said Chris Regina, Senior Vice President, Programming, Syfy. “It’s an excellent complement to our roster of programming and we can’t wait to share the adventures of Hero with the Syfy audience.”

From Nick Willing (Tin Man, Alice) and Robert Halmi Sr. (The Odyssey), Olympus tells the story of how a few brave men and women banished the Gods to the Kingdom of Hades. It will follow a main character who transforms from a fresh-faced young man into a ruthless leader powerful enough to stand with the Gods themselves. No cast has been announced as of yet.

Olympus is one of several recent pickups for Syfy as they look to alter their brand and go back to making harder science fiction like Battlestar Galactica. In addition to this series, Syfy has ordered a 12 Monkeys adaptation and Ascension, a space opera event series, while picking up a new season of Ron Moore’s Helix. Their scripted roster currently includes the likes of Dominion, Defiance, Continuum, Lost Girl, and Bitten.

Olympus bows sometime in 2015 on Syfy.

Will you be watching Olympus? Do you like the direction Syfy’s recent string of pickups is taking? What type of project would you like the network to tackle next?

The post Syfy Orders Mythology Drama Olympus to Series appeared first on TVHackr.