It’s official: Stargate Universe has been renewed for a second season, MGM and Syfy Channel announced late last night (via The Hollywood Reporter).
A 20-episode season will begin filming in early 2010 for a fall premiere. Meanwhile, the second half of Season One will return in April. Work on the first episodes of Season Two is already underway in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the show’s writing team has hammered out storylines and already started writing scripts.
The renewal comes as no surprise, with SGU relaunching the stalwart, 12-year-old franchise and bringing in brand new viewers with its markedly different tone and approach to storytelling. The show has averaged 2.6 million viewers with “Live + 7 Days” DVR data taken into account, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s the cable network’s second highest-rated show of the fall season, behind Ghost Hunters.
According to Syfy:
- In the eight episodes with full “Live + 7” DVR viewing data, Stargate Universe’s first year has averaged 2.64 million total viewers, 1.66 million Adults 25-54, 1.47 million Adults 18-49 and 617,000 Adults 18-34, along with a 1.9 HH rating.
- Compared to the 2008-09 Stargate Atlantis Season Five, SGU jumped 55 percent in Adults 18-34, 36 percent in Adults 18-49, 31 percent in Adults 25-54 and 26 percent in total viewers.
Of course the studio isn’t saying just which cast members will be on the show next season. With another 10 episodes still to air in the freshman season, anyone is at risk of being killed off.
Syfy also announced the renewal of SGU‘s Friday night companion series, Sanctuary. It will be the third season for the series that stars and is executive produced by Amanda Tapping, formerly of Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis fame. The series has averaged 2.2 million viewers this season.
Sanctuary will continue to air the rest of its 13-episode season into January, then return with Season Three in the fall. The renewal marks the show’s first 20-episode order, THR says.
Watch for the next new episode of SGU, “Space,” when the show returns in April! In the meantime, we’ll continue to cover every moment of the franchise and look at Stargate Universe so far, right here at GateWorld.
(Thanks to Michael, kennythewraith, Sean, Shea, Morgan, Paul and Jason for the tip!)
Very cool
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*happy dance*
“anyone is at risk of being killed off.”
Bull. Any actually believ this?
Woooohoooo!!!!
*happy dance*
YES! What do you say now, haters? :p
Fantastic!!!!!! I’m overjoyed at this wonderful news!!! A great early Christmas present!!! :D
*happy dance* as well, but ONLY for Sanctuary.
It’s a sufficient Sci-Fi show, I just wish it had nothing to do with Stargate. Why didn’t they just call it “Monolith Universe” or something, don’t have a stargate, don’t have any of the other cast it in, slap a ‘from the creators of Stargate’ on it, and have a Sci-Fi show that stands off in a corner on it’s own. It has nothing to do with Stargate. What made Stargate awesome is it didn’t take itself overly serious (“Now, we came in peace, and we expect to leave in one … piece.” “Where I am from, I would be… Read more »
I was waiting for you to finally post this! No doubt many people are going to have a hissy fit over this. A small group of people took a negative stance from the beginning, before even seeing an episode. Then they are so far removed that they can’t give the show a chance. Half a beginning season isn’t a chance. Here’s a newsflash: SG-1 didn’t hit it’s stride in that amount of time. This is a brand new show, brand new concept for them (Versus Atlantis which was a reboot of SG-1 scenarios in a different area). It’s going to… Read more »
Sweet deals!
Well it looks like ratings have nothing to do with a show being renewed. It’s laughable now all the excuses we got concerning SGA’s cancellation. Since when did DVR become so popular. Strange how JM denied last year that DVR’s were counted or even important but now suddenly DVR’s are all they can talk about. How many people who DVR actually sit through the adverts. That is just ridiculous. Its no surprise though that SGU got renewed as a 2 year contract was pretty much in the bag and the franchise is riding on SGU. Its a shame that Brad… Read more »
YESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!
More amazing acting! More Stargate :) More amazing music :)
Unbelievable and sad for stargate concept after 15 years of viewing. IMO it’s obvious this renewal is not related to the low SGU rates as the SGA cancellation. I know some here are going to sing victory and show their respect to those who don’t like SGU by some “respectfull” and triumphant comments. SGU is renewed and it’s not a good thing and for not good reasons It’s only coz BW had 2 years contract and the money engaged to produce and promote. TPTB want to get their return on investment that’s all. Enjoy your chance. I followed SG since… Read more »
[…] die Meldung! Stargate-Project.de | News – "SyFy spendiert SGU zweite Staffel!" GateWorld Stargate Universe renewed for second season __________________ Jack ist unsichtbar und macht das SGC unsicher. Carter (in der Dusche): […]
Well done SGU. Any word on when this returns to Sky1 in the UK?
Good news!
@blackwalk Well it looks like ratings have nothing to do with a show being renewed. ………… Its no surprise though that SGU got renewed as a 2 year contract was pretty much in the bag and the franchise is riding on SGU. Its a shame that Brad Wright didnt just hand over the reigns to someone else if he had become so bored with it. SGU would never have been renewed if it didnt have the Stargate name, I guess that’s why he wanted to call this show Stargate eventhough its not remotely like Stargate at all. ____________ You’re right… Read more »
And where season one episodes were single word titles for each show, I’m predicting season two will be two-word titles, much akin to what the producers did in La Femme Nikita. Really enjoying SGU.
Hell yeah!! =D Absolutly loving this show!
Absolutely Ignoring the Show.
That’s GREAT! An excellent series!!!!!
[…] GateWorld Stargate Universe renewed for second season […]
GO SANCTUARY! And, good job, SGU.
Congrats to Sanctuary – 20 episodes!
Freaking BWILLIANT!!! @ blackhawlk What do you think the show should have been called? Something without the term “stargate”? The show is part of the franchise, and still uses a stargate in the plot (the whole reason they’re on the ship in the first place is due to the good ole chaap’ai..) so I really see nothing wrong with it using Stargate in it’s name. Stargate DOES NOT EQUAL Predictable plots, bad CGI, intellectually challenged jaffa and wraith, plastic looking sets… (which was what SG-1 and SGA were relative to SGU at least) Seeing SGU, I really can’t see how… Read more »
Yaaaeeeey!!! Sanctuary will return! :D
@Blitzo
Stop dissin’ SG1 and SGA or we will have to come and beat the crap out of you :P
I’m sorry but I’ve really given the show a fair but BUT it really sux.
@Blitzo
So you’re saying you watched 15 years of Stargate BECAUSE you hated it? You’re as bad as the folks who watch SGU just to bash it.
The old was better, but the new isn’t the end of the world folks. I’ve stopped watching by appointment.
I plan to DVR it and sit down to watch it a few months later from now on. Easier to sit through slow plotting when it all happens at once.
[…] A hírek a GateWorld-ön: https://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/12/stargate-universe-renewed-for-second-season/, […]
@zackwbrandon
That way you only have to watch to episodes a year :)
Second to “Ghost Hunters”. That says a lot!
Unless it gets interesting fast, the show will continue to decline in viewership. A second season is a big gamble based on what we have seen so far.
@zackwbrandon
I meant ofcourse ‘2 episodes’
I am a father of five. My family and I have loved Stargate since day 1. Now, It’s a crap shoot if it’s something we, as a family, can watch or not. Anymore, I have to watch it after the kids go to bed on Demand. I am not going to expose my kids to the sexual scenes in that show. My Wife has refused to watch it since the lesbian scenes a few weeks ago. I am for more grit and more realistic characters and a re-vision, but this is too far. These same techniques were used on BSG,… Read more »
I approached SGU with skepticism. It seemed the producers had rewatched the “200” episode and didn’t remember that the “younger, edgy” character idea was satire.
However, as I watched the first few episodes, I have come to like the show, even if I find I dislike most of the characters. Which is strange.
Renewal is good news. Congratulations. I hope that MGM-TV survives so that the shows can actually be made.
This news makes me a happy fan. :D
This is good news! We need a Stargate series. I think the show is better than I thought, but agree with DocScience: I’m not particularly fond of the characters…
Yeeeees for Sanctuary =)
Don’t really have an opinion about SGU anymore so… whatever =)
@ zackwbrandon I never said I hated SG-1 and SGA, but I’m saying that some of the people who are hating on SGU because they miss all the bad aspects of SG-1 and SGA is a bit strange and incomprehendable for me. I think that the opinions of the show really depend on what walk of life you’re in. I’m 16 years old, so the sex scenes don’t really bother me much and some of the younger characters doesn’t really annoy me or anything… @ oneofseven777 I’m not a big fan of BSG, espicially cause it’s a bit too edgy… Read more »
With the lack of Sci Fi on TV this renewal is a good thing. I only hope the direction of the show changes. Had I never saw Stargate of any type I still would not be excited about this show. Yep I do watch because I want it to be good. It just isn’t.
@AsFarAsLarry I’m getting mighty sick of the old ‘it’s BSG’ talking point. You keep stating it again and again like it’s a given and yet it never gets substantiated. Character drama with SciFi is hardly the invention of Battlestar Overactica. Firefly and Odyssey 5 were around well before BSG. Did BSG rip them off? Some people can’t stand anything different. To compensate they falsely compare it to things that came before, to fit it in that context. When that fails, they claim this isn’t their franchise. How could it be? If they change anything then they change everything. It’s always… Read more »
I am guessing at most three seasons, despite the fact I like the show.
@Blitzo I’m sorry I didn’t know you are only 16. I therefor retract my previous statement about beating you up. For now. If however you’re still dissin’ SG1 by the time you reach maturity however, ………… JK ofcourse. Have a look at the original stargate movie from 1994. It was probably in production at the same time you were. :P @Gaeth I don’t mean to step on your toes, but even though I’ve never really seen any episodes of BSG, I know it’s been around since waaaaaay before Firefly and that other show you mentioned which I do not know.… Read more »
First, folks need to really know what is going on with the SGU and the former franchise series SG1 and SGA fans, the fans of SG1 and SGA were too few in number and second they were getting too old to sell to the advertisers so the folks at the franchise (and the network) decided to do two things. First a D I V O R C E had to take place to run off the old hag long time SG1 viewers so a new pretty younger viewer could be found to replace them. They started by attacking and having… Read more »
@savescifi
You may a good point.
@tptb
I want half of everything you own, you hear?!
Half and nothing less!
:P
I think I’m more excited that Sanctuary was renewed!
“Just look at the hate expressed against SG1 and SGA by the new fanboys of the new non science fiction SGU.”
We don’t hate SG1 & SGA its just that a fair number of naysayers have put those 2 shows on a high pedestal and use the ‘perfection’ to justify why SGU sucks.
We in turn point out that both those shows had there own flaws aswell.
Yeah but they were good flaws. :)
The producers have pitted SG-1 and Atlantis against Universe. They downplay both shows to make Universe look better. They didn’t tear down SG-1 to try and make Atlantis look good.
@mistergroenevingers Yeah I’ve seen the Stargate 1994 film, but as an actual movie I can’t say I find it particularly entertaining. The only reason I like it is that it connects to the Stargate universe. And also I agree with Tanith – too many people rate SG-1 and SGA as the bar that SGU should reach (this bar may actually be underneath SGU in some respects), but SG-1 and SGA had many flaws which, while may be entertaining for older viewers, are a bit tiring for other stargate fans. But I still like SG-1 and SGA; though I also think… Read more »