Sci-Fi Fan Favorite Series Finally Getting A Sequel
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the popular sci-fi series Orphan Black is getting a sequel series, which will tell the story of characters from the original show. Like the original, the new series comes from BBC America, where its predecessor garnered a fan following. It will also be seen on Syfy, owned by NBC Universal, in European countries.
Orphan Black: Echoes is picking up after the end of the fan-favorite sci-fi series, with Krysten Ritter taking over from Tatiana Maslany.
Orphan Black: Echoes was conceived by producer Boat Rocker, who has sold the sequel series to multiple buyers, such as the U.K.’s ITV, in addition to Syfy. The series will star Krysten Ritter and Keeley Hawes, and will deal with the alteration and control of human experience through technological means. The story involves the interconnected journeys of several women whose lives intersect with one another as they seek to understand their own mysterious identities, revealing a deeper, more treacherous story.
In the director’s chair of Orphan Black: Echoes first episode will be John Fawcett, co-creator of the original series.
Sasha Breslau, head of content acquisitions at ITV, expressed the enthusiasm ITV has for Orphan Black: Echoes and the company’s plan to offer it exclusively through ITVX in the coming months. She further stated she believes the series to have a fascinating collection of characters and to offer an exciting adventure that audiences will be thrilled to follow. For fans of the original series, this is wonderful news and surely will be met with a great deal of enthusiasm.
Having previously been given the green light by AMC Networks, Orphan Black: Echoes will be set in the same narrative universe as the original sci-fi drama, which starred Tatiana Maslany and aired from 2013 to 2017. The dates discussed for the broadcast of the new series in the ITV statement, vague though they are, only apply to the UK and Europe. As of this writing, there has not yet been a premiere date set for the series in the United States. Globally, the series has been sold to a number of buyers, including TVNZ in New Zealand, OCS in France, NPO in the Netherlands, Australia’s Stan Entertainment, and Hong Kong’s NOW Studio.
Orphan Black won countless awards during its run, with Tatiana Maslany receiving praise for her portrayal of all the clones.
The first season of Orphan Black: Echoes will run for 10 episodes and is written by Anna Fishko of Pieces of Her fame, who also serves as showrunner for the series. Boat Rocker is set to produce the series, picking up the role he held on the original via his production company, Temple Street Productions. The series has another connection to its predecessor, John Fawcett, who co-created the first series and will serve as an executive producer and director on the new one.
Boat Rocker manages The Orphan Black franchise globally and also handles consumer products and content distribution for the science fiction series. While details on the production of the series are not presently forthcoming, it is worth noting that this series is not connected with SAG-AFTRA and is, therefore, not affected by the ongoing actors’ strike. In light of the recent end of the WGA strike, it can feel at the moment as though Hollywood is ready to get back to work, but for actors in SAG-AFTRA, those gears remain frozen.
Fans of Orphan Black will surely be looking forward to this new series, as will we.
