Syfy lays its vision for a future filled with George R.R. Martin and Superman’s grandpa
On Tuesday, Syfy gathered reporters in New York to unveil its plans for a shiny new reboot set to launch June 19. And in addition to debuting a blocky new logo with neon design, the event served as a platform to announce some of the new series that will be joining its lineup. As expected based on that leaked trailer, Syfy has given a greenlight to its the prequel about Superman‘s grandpa Krypton. It has also signed up to air Happy!, a graphic novel adaptation starring Christopher Meloni as a former cop who is now a hitman. The catch? He also has a blue Pegasus-type creature named Happy (and voiced by Bobby Moynihan) invading his psyche. (Let’s hope this goes better than Imaginary Mary.)
On top of that, Syfy wants to get into the George R.R. Martin business. NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment President of Entertainment Networks Chris McCumber teased that it is developing a show based on the Game Of Thrones author‘s Nightflyers novella. “It’s paranormal meets space drama,” McCumber said. “So think The Shining in space.” That’s on top of a development slate that also includes new takes on classic works like Brave New World and Stranger In A Strange Land.
Above all, however, the new Syfy is trying to capitalize on the fact that genre fare—be it sci-fi or fantasy—has mainstream appeal these days. McCumber also touted that NBC Universal, and therefore Syfy, will eventually be able to start broadcasting the Harry Potter franchise as well as 14 Marvel movies. Meanwhile, execs have hopes that the news hub Syfy Wire will be an E! News equivalent for the network, but with markedly fewer Kardashians.