Gabriel Bateman and Kyla-Drew Simmons have been cast as the leads on the in-development Syfy series ‘Cipher’. The new series comes from writer Allison Miller, who is a producer on the CBS All Access series ‘Strange Angel’. Peter Hoar (‘Umbrella Academy’) is attached to direct the pilot. This is the second of two teen-based series that Syfy has ordered a pilot for, along with ‘(Future) Cult Classic’. For now, ‘Cipher’ is just a working title, so it may change if and when Syfy decides to pick it up to series.
Bateman will portray the show’s main character, Asa, “a 13-year-old video game junkie who finds himself with top-secret military tech inside his head.”
Following the death of his mother, his life changes yet again when he becomes the unwitting recipient of the new technology. He and his father then find themselves at the center of the next great war — over artificial intelligence.
Simmons plays 16-year-old Annie, a girl that Asa meets inside the world of the video game they both play.
Annie seems to know a great deal about the game, but has little understanding of the complexities of human relationships or the outside world.
Bateman starred on Amazon Prime’s ‘The Dangerous Book For Boys’ which only lasted for one season. Before that, he starred on ‘Stalker’, ‘American Gothic’, and ‘Outcast’. He also starred in last year’s Netflix original movie, ‘Benji’ and will be seen in the reboot of ‘Child’s Play’, which is not connected to Syfy’s in-development series ‘Chucky’ which carries on the storyline of the original movies. Other projects that Bateman has coming up are historical epic ‘Robert the Bruce’, ‘Think Like a Dog’, and the animated ‘Playmobil: The Movie’.
Simmons will be seen in the upcoming Netflix comedy ‘No Good Nick’ which stars Sean Astin and Melissa Joan Hart. She may be best recognized for co-starring on Nickelodeon’s ‘Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn’ and she appeared in last year’s action movie ‘Peppermint’ starring Jennifer Garner. She has also made appearances on ‘90210’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘Castle’, ‘NCIS’, and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
If ‘Cipher’ gets picked up to series, it could premiere as soon as this fall. Check back for updates!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
