With Game Of Thrones set to end in 2019, networks and streaming services are seemingly scrambling to find the next comparable hit to reel in fans of the show. HBO is going the spinoff route, Amazon is looking to make a comparably epic series with The Lord Of The Rings, and now Syfy (and Netflix, more on that later) are simply going back to the source.
Syfy is moving forward with a series based on George R.R Martin‘s 1987 novella, Nightflyers. Jeff Buhler (Jacob’s Ladder) has penned the TV adaptation, and will executive produce alongside Daniel Cerone (The Blacklist), who will also serve as showrunner. Martin himself will also have an executive producer credit, while Mike Cahill (I Origins) will direct the pilot.
So what is Nightflyers about? According to a press release, the show will follow “eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath who embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system aboard ‘The Nightflyer’ – a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain — in the hope of making contact with alien life.
But when terrifying and violent events begin to take place they start to question each other — and surviving the journey proves harder than anyone thought”.
Sounds interesting, even if it is as far removed from Game Of Thrones as it gets. The series will star Gretchen Moll in the lead, alongside Eoin Macken, David Ajala and Sam Strike.
As for that earlier tease about Netflix, Syfy is producing the series for the US market, but Netflix is co-producing, which will give them the ability to stream the series on their service internationally.
There currently is no date for when production might start or when we might see the series, so for now we’ll have to twiddle our thumbs and play the waiting game. It’s worth noting that this is potentially a series based on a novella, so a full series would likely have next-to-nothing of Martin’s original source material within it.
Still, for Thrones fans, for Martin fans, this is still intriguing news. The networks and streaming giants are battling for supremacy in what’s soon to be a post-Thrones world, and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top.
#Peace.Love.Nightflyers
