Farscape’s Creator Producing A Post-Apocalyptic Riff On Alien Nation For Julie Benz
A couple of years ago the SyFy channel changed it’s name from Sci-Fi in order to spend less time airing actual science fiction programming and more time broadcasting wrestling and ghost hunting shows. Lately there’ve been rumors of new science fiction appearing on the channel though. Maybe they’re starting to regret it?
The latest actual science fiction addition to the channel is a new show called Defiance. It’s currently in development with intent to air it on the SyFy channel and it’ll star total babe Julie Benz. The plot of Defiance sounds a lot like a post-apocalyptic Alien Nation and involves a future planet Earth ravaged by decades of war and then revitalized by alien terraforming machines. In that environment humans and aliens must learn to live and work together.
Deadline says Benz will play the idealistic new mayor of a mining boomtown, struggling to keep the peace. Grant Bowler will star in the series as a law-keeper named Jeb Nolan.
There’s more than one alien race involved here. One group is called the Irathients. Stephanie Leonidas is set to star as an beautiful Irathient warrior adopted and raised by the Jeb Nolan character. The other race are called the Castithans. Tony Curran will star as, “Datak Tarr, a member of another elite alien race known as the Castithans who schemed his way out of his home planet before it was destroyed.” Actress Jaime Murray will play Datak Tarr’s wife.
Defiance is set to begin shooting this April in Toronto. Rockne S. O’Bannon, who created Farscape will produce the show and the whole thing is supposed to tie in somehow to an online video game, which was developed concurrently with the series. Farscape was one of the best shows ever made. Wherever O’Bannon goes I’ll follow.
