Syfy is bringing us a new series that they are hyping as a brand new experience that will not only redefine television but interactive media as a whole. Premiering on Syfy on April 15th is ‘Defiance‘. The series will launch its 12 episode season with a 2 hour pilot and is bringing the network back to it’s science fiction roots in a way that is so epic in scale that, if they are able to pull it off, will overshadow everything else they’ve been able to release to date!
We’re being given the ultimate post apocalyptic future. Aliens came, they invaded, we both lost and have to live together. In a way it reminds me of Firefly (without the lightheartedness, at least from the commercials to date.) It has an old western feel with aspects of high tech. It’s a feel that isn’t done enough in science fiction and with something getting both the budget and backing as ‘Defiance’ is getting? Hell, I’m excited!
‘Defiance’ itself isn’t just a television show, but it also interacts with an online game that takes place in the same world and will have cross continuity consequences. That’s right! Depending on how the game is played will affect the world in the show, though each is also independent enough where you do not need to be watching and playing to enjoy the experience, only to enhance it. You will occasionally see characters or references to characters from the television show in the game and world changing events that take place in the game will be referenced on the television show.
According to Deadline, executive producer Kevin Murphy had this to say about ‘Defiance’ at TCA :
The analogy I like to use is, I grew up as a gigantic comic book geek, and what I loved about comics is that you could love Batman and read Batman’s adventures, and if you happen to also like Superman, if you read both titles, sometimes there would be crossovers in the summer that lent an extra level of coolness to the whole thing.”
Added Murphy, “The game has its own narrative and story lines. They are shared universes with dual portals. If there is a catastrophic weather experience [in the TV show], the characters in the game [may] put that in motion.” He said the game will create an illusion of spontaneity, but “if you are supposed to get the gadget, you will get the gadget.”
For more about ‘Defiance,’ check out the newest trailer and press release below!
‘Defiance’stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Graham Greene and Mia Kirshner and will premiere on the Syfy channel on Monday, April 15th at 9pm ET/8pm C.
From the press release:
DEFIANCE TO PREMIERE MONDAY, APRIL 15 @ 9 PM ON SYFY
Revolutionary Transmedia Event Marks First-Ever Convergence of Television and Online Gaming
NEW YORK – January 7, 2012 – Syfy’s highly-anticipated Defiance will have its series premiere Monday, April 15 @ 9pm with a two-hour episode (culminating in a total of 12 episodes/13 hours). Defiance, an unprecedented approach to storytelling, will unite scripted television and online gaming for the very first time. Both the series and the game feature an interconnected world and storylines that will launch in early April with the release of the game and continue seamlessly with the series premiere on the 15th.
Defiance stars Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Graham Greene (Rafe McCawley) and Mia Kirshner (Kenya).
About Defiance
Set in the near future, Defiance introduces an exotically transformed planet Earth, its landscapes permanently altered following the sudden – and tumultuous – arrival of seven unique alien races. In this somewhat unknown and unpredictable landscape, the richly diverse, newly-formed civilization of humans and aliens must learn to co-exist peacefully. Each week, viewers will follow an immersive character drama set in the boom-town of Defiance, which sits atop the ruins of St. Louis, MO, while in the game, players will adventure in the new frontier of the San Francisco Bay area. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story.
The series, produced by Universal Cable Productions, is executive produced by Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica; Hellcats) & Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Scott Stewart (Legion, Priest) directed the pilot; Michael Nankin will serve as supervising producer/director on the series. The game was named “Best MMORPG” from GameSpy at the recent E3 conference in June 2012 (among other accolades).
About Syfy
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
About Universal Cable Productions
Universal Cable Productions creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across multiple media platforms and outlets for domestic and international distribution. UCP produces “Covert Affairs,” “Fairly Legal,” “Psych,” “Royal Pains” and “Suits” for USA; “Alphas,” “Defiance” and “Warehouse 13” for Syfy. Universal Cable Productions is a division of NBCUniversal.
About Trion Worlds
Trion Worlds is the leading publisher and developer of premium games for the connected era. Powered by a breakthrough development and publishing platform, Trion is revolutionizing the way games are developed, played and sold. Trion’s world-class team delivers high-quality, dynamic and massively social games operated as live services across the biggest game genres and devices; including the critically acclaimed blockbuster, Rift™ and the highly-anticipated End of Nations™ and Defiance™. Trion is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., with offices in San Diego, Calif., Austin, Texas, and at Trion Worlds Europe in London, UK.
