The Syfy Channel seems to be doing something right in terms of their programming as, according to THR, they have just posted that this last quarter was its most-watched third quarter ever. Some attribute this rise in new viewers is due to the success of the shows ‘Alphas’, ‘Haven’ and ‘Warehouse 13’. Because of this, the Syfy channel has decided to develop more scripted projects and has three more in development.
One of the projects slated for the channel is ‘Ghost Projekt’. ‘Ghost Projekt’ is based on the Oni Press comic series about a female KGB agent and a male American weapons inspector who team up when a deadly force is unleashed in Siberia. Here’s the official synopsis from the comic:
Russia is often remembered from the shadow cast during the Cold War-era when every stranger was a spy, but now that the Cold War is long over, some things left behind from that era may not stay lost. An abandoned Soviet research facility somewhere in Siberia has been home to a strange and dangerous weapon that is now in the hands of thieves claiming it for their own. U.S. weapons inspector Will Haley has been assigned to find out what dangers the weapon poses and with the help of Russian agent Anya Romanova they will find the answers, but it will be far from easy.
Brett Matthews (executive story editor for ‘Supernatural’) will write the pilot as well as executive produce with Andy Bourne and Eric Gitter (‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’). This show seems like it’s in good hands as Matthews was once an assistant to Joss Whedon for ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’ as well as the writer for a ‘Firefly’ episode and the comic that tied that show with the movie ‘Serenity.’
Another project that seems to be in good hands is ‘Seeing Things.’ This show is being developed with Fox TV Studios and is about a murdered police officer who becomes a ghost and has to solve his own murder. His only link to the real world is a socially awkward man who realizes that the hallucinations that he sees are really dead people.
The pilot will be written by David Slack and Gabrielle Stanton both who have extensive experience in the sci fi genre. Slack was the consulting producer for ‘Lie to Me’ and ‘The Forgotten’ and currently is the co-producer of CBS’ ‘Person of Interest.’ Stanton was a consulting producer and writer for the shows ‘The Gates’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and currently ‘Haven’. Scott Rosenberg (‘Life on Mars’) and Robert Cort (‘Jumanji’, ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’) will executive produce with Slack.
Of the three, however, the one show that is most anticipated is an untitled Robert H. Wolfe project that is being developed in conjunction with Universal Cable Productions. Very little is known about this project, just that it will bring the Syfy channel back into space. This space opera will be set during a post war era on the Starship Defender. The crew is a volatile mix of humans and trans-humans who are brought together by the newly formed Unity Democracy with the mission to find lost worlds requiring law and order.
This project is from Robert Wolfe who will write as well as executive produce. Wolfe is currently the co-executive producer and writer for the hit Syfy series ‘Alphas’, but he is well known for much more. Wolfe has also worked on ‘The Gates’, ‘The 4400’, ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ and was the showrunner for ‘Andromeda’.
With all three shows having very talented people behind it, the news comes with much excitement and anticipation. This new direction for the Syfy channel is a positive step in regaining its reputation since the name change. Hopefully all three will be able to go into production and become a series by next season.
So, what do you think of the news and which one would you want to see most?
