Fans of Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin are in for a new treat after Syfy recently confirmed that it has picked up the author's Nightflyers for a TV series.
On Thursday, Jan. 4, Syfy officially gave the green light on the production of the series inspired by Martin's science fiction novella of the same name. Daniel Cerone (The Blacklist) will create the series with story from Jeff Buhler (Jacob's Ladder). Ceron and Buhler will also serve as executive producers of the show.
Universal Cable Productions will produce the Nightflyers TV series along with Netflix, which will have first-run rights of the show outside the United States. Martin is not directly involved with the show as he is still tied up with finishing The Winds of Winter, the sixth installment in his Song of Ice and Fire book series, which is the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones.
However, Martin will also executive produce the Nightflyers along with David Bartis, Doug Liman of Hypnotic, and Gene Klein. Other executive producers of the series include Lloyd Ivan Miller and Alice P. Neuhauser of Lloyd Ivan Miller Productions and Alison Rosenzweig and Michael Gaeta of Gaeta Rosenzweig Films. Mike Cahill will serve as pilot director along with Andrew McCarthy who will work as producer-director. Robert Jaffe will produce the show.
The cast are already in place for the Nightflyers TV series with Eoin Macken (The Night Shift) and Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire) headlining the series. Mol plays Dr. Agatha Matheson and Macken as Karl D'Branin. Other cast include Sam Strike (Eastenders) as Thale, Teen Wolf's Maya Eshet as Lommie, David Ajala (Fast & Furious 6) as Roy Eris, and Fargo's Angus Sampson as Rowan. Brían F. O'Byrne from Million Dollar Baby and Jodie Turner-Smith from The Last Ship also stars as Auggie and Melantha Jhirl, respectively.
"NIGHTFLYERS follows eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath who embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system aboard The Nightflyer — a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain — in the hope of making contact with alien life. But when terrifying and violent events begin to take place they start to question each other — and surviving the journey proves harder than anyone thought," reads the synopsis for Nightflyers from Syfy.
In November, Martin wrote about Syfy's adaptation of his novella on his Not a Blog LiveJournal. He teased that filming for the 10-episode series will take place in Ireland, the same venue for Game of Thrones. Martin also mentioned a July 2018 release, although the network has yet to announce a premiere date.
