Hoping to expand on their programming options and return to the sci-fi genre, Syfy has unveiled their list of projects that they are developing. The good news: The slate includes 3 scripted projects with one from Stephen King. The bad news: They have 8 unscripted projects (in other words, 8 reality shows in development).
Of all the projects in development, one of the most exciting is the move to bring Stephen King’s fantasy novel ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ to the small screen. Syfy execs are looking to bring this on as a movie or at the most, a mini-series.
‘The Eyes of the Dragon’ comes at a great time considering the success of the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones.’ It’s set in the fictional realm of Delain and centers on the crusade of Peter who sets out to destroy Flagg, the 400 year old evil magician, who murdered his father. Flagg manages to place Peter’s brother Thomas onto the throne as he is more manageable and falsely imprisons Peter. It’s now up to Peter to find a way to escape, clear his name, and confront the devious and powerful wizard who is responsible for his father’s death.
What makes this news so thrilling is that the characters in ‘The Eyes of the Dragon’ have appeared in other of King’s books (Peter and Thomas were mentioned in ‘The Dark Tower’ and Flagg was one of the main characters in ‘The Stand’). Although this project is set to as a one-time deal, it would be a great jumping off point to other of King’s fantasy books.
Michael Taylor (‘Battlestar Galactica’, ‘Caprica’, Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome’) and Jeff Vintar (‘I, Robot’) will adapt the book with Taylor and Bill Haber (‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King’) executive producing.
Here are the other scripted projects in development:
Other Scripted Projects:
Seeing Things: A cop meets a violent demise and returns as a ghost to close his last case. The only person who can help him is a socially awkward man who soon realizes that his hallucinations may not be all in his head. David Slack (‘Person of Interest’, ‘New Teen Titans’) and Gabrielle Staton (‘Haven’, ‘The Vampire Diaries’) will write the pilot with Slack, Robert Cort (‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’, ‘Save the Last Dance’) and Scott Mitchell Rosenberg (‘Cowboys and Aliens’) executive producing.
Darkfall: When, without warning, modern forms of power and technology become a thing of the past, Los Angeles, and the world at large, becomes a place where magic rules and life as we know it is turned upside down. Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (the men who wrote ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and ‘Eleventh Hour’) are behind this project.
One Mile Straight Down: When a powerful earthquake hits California and opens up a chasm bigger than the Grand Canyon, it reveals an enormous hidden ocean lying deep beneath the earth’s crust. Billionaire adventurer James Exeter works with the government to take an advanced nuclear submarine down to explore it and discovers more than he ever could have imagined. Skip Woods (‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’), Naren Shankar (‘Grimm’, ‘Farscape,’ Star Trek: The Next Generation’) and Deran Sarafian (‘The Cape’, ‘Hemlock Grove’) will write and executive produce.
Grave Sight: A young woman who was struck by lightning in her teens finds that she is able to sense the location and last memories of dead people. She teams up with her protective stepbrother to help find a missing teenage girl or only to uncover a network of lies and murders throughout a small town in the Ozarks.
What makes this project appealing is that is it based on the books by ‘True Blood’ author Charlaine Harris. With the appeal and success of ‘True Blood’ it’s easy to see that this could be another hit for Syfy and Harris joining the ranks of ‘Being Human’ and ‘Lost Girl.’ Kam Miller will be writing on the series.
Unscripted Projects
Of course, Syfy wouldn’t by Syfy unless it had its bevy of reality shows. At least in this bunch of proposed projects they all are sci-fi related. Here’s a list of what you may see next season:
Chris Cox Project: What do you get when you mix the mind manipulating abilities of Derren Brown, the mischievousness of Ferris Bueller, and the comic eccentricity of Mr. Bean? The personification is named Chris Cox who is a mind reader who can’t read minds. Follow him as he visits everyday places and amazes and confounds real people with his “ability.”
Divas of Dress Up: Follow six female cosplay stars as they push the boundaries of creativity and costuming as they transform themselves into fictional characters. This docu-series will take views into the world of cosplay competition as they push the boundary of fantasy and reality with their amazing costumes.
Fan Girl/Fan Boy Project: From the producer of ‘Jersey Shore’ comes a docu-series that celebrates the incredibly unique, often misunderstood and infinitely fascinating fan girl and fan boy cultures. The series will focus on the fan boys and girls that “obsess over science fiction/fantasy/super hero offerings encompassing comics, video games, TV and movies.”
Limitless: Each week the series will recount firsthand and true life tales of ordinary men and women who discovered they have hidden powers especially when faced with extreme life and death circumstances leaving viewers wondering what hidden abilities do other humans possess.
Superhuman: Not to be mistaken for Stan Lee’s Superhuman show (which was called ‘Stan Lee’s Superhumans’), this reality based series would uncover the secrets of unbelievable stunts, record-breaking abilities, and exceptional feats of human power by testing real people in a high tech lab to answer the question “How did they do that?”
Toy Traveler: Shane Turgeon, the Indiana Jones of toy collectors, travels to remote corners of the world to find the rarest and most valuable toys and collectibles. Whether it’s in an old toy warehouse in a remote Guatemalan town or a small swap meet in the Ukraine, Shane will go to all lengths to find the most unique and collectible toys.
Master Control: A weekly competition that pits viewer’s videos against one another in a battle for viewer popularity. Each week viewers submit videos that must entertain the host, celebrity panel, and the viewing audiences and the one with the highest rating becomes the winner.
Stranger Than Fiction: A comedic game show where comedians compete for laughs by commenting and arguing over the strangest clips from the web. Points are gained by good jokes while they can be lost by lame ones. At the end of the show a comedian is crowned the winner.
Of course not all these projects will make it to the small screen (thankfully) and but the scripted shows do show promise. Which ones would you like to see succeed?
