Thursday , March 28 2024
Who's afraid of modern art?

Syfy Channel Announces Ambitious Plans for Next Television Season

It was a fitting venue for a Syfy presentation. In the Museum of Modern Art in New York City last night, at a showcase surrounded by the crazy creatures of the current Tim Burton exhibit, Syfy channel president David Howe announced plans for new scripted series and reality shows to join the cast of unconventional characters currently on its programming agenda.

The occasion was the first anniversary of a re-branding of the Sci-Fi Channel into the Syfy channel which Mr. Howe celebrated as a bold move with flourishing results in gaming, interactive computing, and good old-fashioned television. Syfy was ranked #2 among all cable entertainment networks in the number of original primetime programming hours in 2009 and #4 in original programming among 18-49 and 25-54 year-olds.

New season announcements include Haven, a new series based upon a Stephen King novella "The Colorado Kid." Haven will feature actress Emily Rose, previously on CBS's Jericho. Also in the works, among other new series, is Being Human based upon a popular British television series which tells the fanciful story of three roommates: a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf.

Thursday nights will be designated a "reality night" with new reality-based series: Mary Knows Best following the adventures of a Long Island psychic and mom, Paranormal Investigators (a working title,) and Quantum Kitchen, an intriguing new show based upon molecular cooking.


Alessandra Torresani from Caprica

Howe also announced the return of some of the channel's ongoing series, some more successful, rating-wise, than others. Fans of Caprica will be glad to hear that it will return for another season. There had been speculation that it would not be picked back up due to poor ratings. Caprica has taken its time in establishing a complicated storyline, and some viewers lost patience with the touted prequel to the now iconic Battlestar Galactica.

In an interview with actress Magda Apanowicz, who plays teenage Lacey in Caprica, she stated that those stalwarts who stayed with the show will be rewarded: "I can't say what's going to happen, of course, all I can say is that you will see a lot more of Gemenon [one of Battlestar's 12 colonies] and these episodes have been my favorite episodes so far."

 

When asked what it was like working with actor James Marsters, Ms. Apanowicz glowed: "It was a childhood dream. I grew up watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It was my religion… what do I say to him? That's Spike!"


Magda Apanowicz

Also returning is Warehouse 13, which Howe indicated was their highest-rated scripted show in the history of the channel. The successful Ghost Hunters and its spin-offs, Ghost Hunters International and Ghost Hunters Academy, will also continue searching for spirits, real and imagined.


Kris Williams and Amy Bruni from Ghost Hunters

Eureka, Stargate Universe, Sanctuary, and Destination Truth all contributed their stars to a red carpet moment in the lobby of the museum. The biggest star of the night however wasn't in attendance. Beamed in for a broadcast to the crowd of press and advertisers, Tracy Morgan, who will be the executive producer of next season's Scare Tactics, apologized to the crowd for not attending the event: "My fear of modern art has kept me from being with you today."


Ronald D. Moore, left, and David Eick, writers and producers of Caprica

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