Frederik Pohl’s classic novel Gateway is being developed by Syfy as a scripted one-hour drama series.
In Gateway, humanity’s first first encounter is with a mysterious, alien race – The Heechee – through the discovery of ancient artifacts, which sets of a ‘gold rush’ searching for advanced alien technology.
Gateway is n Entertainment One (eOne)/Universal Cable Productions co-production with Battlestar Galactica’s David Eick and GvsE creator Josh Pate set to adapt. For further details, follow the jump.
SYFY TO DEVELOP FREDERIK POHL’S HUGO AND NEBULA AWARD-WINNING NOVEL GATEWAY AS SCRIPTED SERIES
Co-Production with Entertainment One and Universal Cable Productions
David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) and Josh Pate (Falling Skies) to Adapt the One-Hour Series and Executive Produce with the De Laurentiis Company
LOS ANGELES – August 12, 2015 – Syfy today announced that it will develop Frederik Pohl’s Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel Gateway about humanity’s encounter with a mysterious, ancient alien civilization as a one-hour scripted series with Entertainment One Television (eOne) and Universal Cable Productions (UCP). eOne will distribute the series worldwide.
David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) and Josh Pate (Falling Skies) collaborated on the adaptation and will serve as executive producers on the series. Eick will revise a pilot script written by Pate and serve as showrunner. The series will also be executive produced by Martha De Laurentiis through the De Laurentiis Company, former eOne Television executive Michael Rosenberg, and Lorenzo De Maio. eOne Television’s Gerard Bocaccio, SVP US Scripted Development, will oversee the project for the studio.
In Gateway, humanity discovers an asteroid teeming with the long abandoned spaceships of an advanced alien race — the Heechee – setting in motion a gold rush for alien artifacts and technology. The ships are preprogrammed, transporting their voyagers to distant worlds of riches — or certain death. Undaunted by the peril or the odds, prospector Robinette Broadhead gambles everything on a journey to Gateway. After one nightmare mission, he returns to extraordinary wealth and luxury, but is haunted by the loss of his crewmates, including the love of his life.
Said Bill McGoldrick, Executive Vice President, Original Content, Syfy: “We’re delighted to develop this fascinating First Contact story with long-time partners Universal Cable Productions and Entertainment One. Gateway is thought-provoking and unsettling, raising profound questions about mankind’s possible relationship with alien life.”
“David and Josh are masters of telling authentic, multidimensional stories set in wholly unfamiliar worlds, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them and Syfy to translate Frederik’s beloved and timeless adventure saga into an equally exhilarating television series,” said Pancho Mansfield, President of Global Scripted Programming, eOne Television.
“Gateway is a science-fiction marvel weaving a great story of humanity and love,” said Dawn Olmstead, Executive Vice President, Development at Universal Cable Productions. “We’re excited to realize Frederik Pohl’s vision and bring it to life for Syfy- the ideal home for this compelling classic.”
First published in 1977 by St. Martin’s Press, Gateway is a celebrated science fiction book that has won top writing awards including the Hugo Award® for Best Novel, the Nebula Award® for Best Novel, the Locus Award® for Best Novel and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award® for Best Science Fiction Novel, among others.
Eick was most recently the Executive Producer on TNT’s Falling Skies. Prior to that he had been best known for having developed and Executive Produced the Battlestar Galactica, including the spinoff Caprica. Originally a “re-imagining” of the 1978 series of the same name, Battlestar Galactica ran four seasons, earning numerous awards including 18 Emmy nominations, 4 Emmy wins, the Saturn Award for excellence in science fiction and the coveted Peabody Award recognizing “distinguished achievement and meritorious service”. The show also won the AFI Award in 2005 and 2006 for its “contribution to America’s cultural legacy”, and was honored in 2009 by the United Nations. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America recognized Battlestar on its list of The 101 Best-Written Television Series of All Time.
Pate launched his career co-writing the feature film The Grave with his brother Jonas, and more recently created ABC’s upcoming drama series Blood and Oil. Prior to his work on Falling Skies on which he collaborated with Eick, Pate created the one-hour series Surface for NBC and Good vs. Evil for USA Network.
Eick and Pate are represented by WME.
About Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a leading international entertainment company that specializes in the acquisition, production and distribution of film and television content. The company’s comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the UK, Ireland, Spain, Benelux, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea. Through established Film and Television divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital content. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 40,000 film and television titles, 4,500 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.
eOne produces and distributes a diverse slate of award-winning, critically acclaimed programming across all genres, and has a proven track record in delivering successful long running series. Hit original shows from the company include Hell on Wheels, an AMC signature series, Rogue for DirecTV, Welcome to Sweden for NBC, Rookie Blue for ABC, Stephen King’s Haven and Bitten for Syfy, the limited series Klondike for Discovery and The Book of Negroes for BET, as well as Saving Hope, Nellyville and Mary Mary, among others. In addition, the company’s slate includes a number of highly successful series coming out of its output relationship with AMC and SundanceTV including The Walking Dead, Halt and Catch Fire, Turn and The Red Road.
About The De Laurentiis Company
Martha De Laurentiis founded the De Laurentiis Company in 1983 for collaborations with her husband Dino, the legendary producer behind hundreds of films, from Fellini’s La Strada and John Huston’s The Bible, to modern classics like Three Days of the Condor, Serpico, King Kong,Conan the Barbarian, and Blue Velvet. Today, the De Laurentiis Company continues to push boundaries on both the large and small screen with exciting new projects that include the forthcoming Barbarella series, set to be directed by Nicolas Winding Refn; The Seventh Day, a sci-fi thriller to be directed by Shane Abbess; Sandman Slim, based on the cult book series by Richard Kadrey; and The Naturals, based on the successful YA series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The company also produced NBC’s Hannibal.
About Universal Cable Productions
Universal Cable Productions (UCP) creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across media platforms for domestic and international distribution. UCP’s content library spans classics such as Emmy-award winning, “Monk,” and critic and fan favorites “Psych,” “Battlestar Galactica,” and “Warehouse 13.” In the U.S., UCP’s programming can be seen across various networks, including: “Colony” (Fall 2015), “Dig,” “Mr. Robot,” “Playing House,” “Royal Pains,” “Satisfaction” and “Suits” on USA Network; “12 Monkeys,” “Childhood’s End” (2016), “Defiance,” “Dominion,” “Hunters” (2016), “Killjoys,” and “Magicians” (2016) on Syfy; “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce” on Bravo; “The Royals,” on E!; “Difficult People” on Hulu; “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” on Machinima Prime/YouTube, Syfy and DVD/Blu-Ray; and “Side Effects” on Awesomeness TV/YouTube. Universal Cable Productions is a part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. Follow us @UCPisTV.
About Syfy
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine Greater.)