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

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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.

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.

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?

The post Syfy to Launch Space Opera Miniseries Ascension in Late 2014 appeared first on TVHackr.