Stargate SG-1 Creators Reveal First In-Depth Look At New Sci-Fi Series
It’s not much, but we finally have our first look at the highly-anticipated SYFY series The Ark. The extremely brief teaser set to a creepy version of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” gives us some looks at the setting and some of the characters. The series is brought to us by co-showrunners Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner, so the sci-fi bonafides run deep.
Dean Devlin is best known for his work on Independence Day and Stargate while Jonathan Glassner is known for his work on Stargate SG-1. While fans have been waiting for a new Stargate series, The Ark slightly makes up for it by pairing two of the franchise’s most prominent creators. Devlin and Glassner also serve as executive producers on the series along with Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan-Wilson.
The Ark is a sci-fi series set 100 years in the future that follows humanity’s first mission to colonize another planet. Due to conditions on Earth, moving has become a necessity and the spacecraft Ark One is leading the charge to find a suitable replacement. However, a catastrophic event happens a year before the ship has reached its target planet, causing the remaining crew to band together and do everything they can to survive until they can complete their mission.
The Ark certainly has shades of Stargate and other interstellar series, so Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner should be operating right in their wheelhouse. With 12 episodes ordered for the first season, there should be plenty of time for them to flesh out this new universe. The series stars Christie Burke as a low-ranking officer, Richard Fleeshman as the head of the ship’s navigational system, Reece Ritchie as a lieutenant, Stacey Read as a member of the Waste Management team, Ryan Adams as a young man, Christina Wolfe as a psychologist, Shalini Peiris as the chief physician, Miles Barrow as an ensign, Pavle Jerinić as the hard-nosed head of security, Tiana Upcheva as the leader maintenance, engineering, and life support systems, and Lisa Brenner as a military veteran.
The Ark may be the needed shot in the arm that SYFY needs for their current programming schedule. Currently, the network only has three shows where it is the sole producer, including Day of the Dead, Resident Alien, and Reginald the Vampire. It has several co-productions including SurrealEstate, Chucky, and Astrid & Lily Save the World.
Of the series SYFY currently produces and co-produces, only Resident Alien and SurrealEstate have been officially renewed for new seasons. The Ark looks like it could be a big hit for the network and from the trailer, the production values seem fairly high. SYFY has previously been the home of beloved sci-fi series like Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, and The Expanse, so maybe this could be their next major franchise.
It hasn’t been long since Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner worked together in the TV landscape, as the two both had their hands in the CW series The Outpost, which was canceled in 2021. While that series didn’t find quite the same level of success as some of their previous projects, there’s hope that The Ark is a return to form for both of them. We’ll get to find out when SYFY premieres the series in February of 2023.
