Syfy Channel won’t bring back Sanctuary for a fifth season, the network confirmed today.
“We’re honored to have been part of this incredible series,” Mark Stern, Syfy’s President of Original Content, told The Hollywood Reporter. “In addition to garnering unmatched devotion by fans worldwide, Sanctuary was a bona fide trailblazer, setting new standards with its highly innovative production techniques — including pioneering green screen and RED camera technology — and Emmy-nominated visual effects.”
Sanctuary began in 2007 as a privately-funded, limited run Web series before being picked up by Syfy in 2008.
Season Four concluded in December and, with no immediate pick-up, the cast and crew have begun work on other projects. Executive producer and series star Amanda Tapping is currently directing for the new series Primeval: New World, which also has Sanctuary‘s Martin Wood on board as a series producer and director.
Series creator Damian Kindler is writing a Universal Soldier television pilot (story), and co-star Christopher Heyerdahl (“John Druitt,” “Bigfoot”) has booked a recurring role on HBO’s True Blood, starting next month (story).
“To all the fans of @SanctuarySeries we love and adore you,” Tapping wrote on Twitter today. “Thank you for the love and support. Now to the long dark tea time of my soul.”
Tapping and Wood recently spoke candidly with GateWorld about the show’s uncertain renewal prospects, as well as their frustration over being moved to Monday nights last year. After a ratings free-fall of more than 40 percent, Syfy moved the show back to the post-wrestling time slot for what would be its final season. Season Four averaged 1.26 million viewers over 13 episodes last fall.
Listen to the full interview here.
Sanctuary‘s place on the fall schedule will be filled by the third season of Haven, bumped back from its usual place on the summer schedule. Syfy has a number of scripted dramas in development, including Defiance and Rewind.
And now there is absolutely nothing left for me to watch on Syfy. They have successfully killed the network….. Oh so sad.
I officially despise SyFy. Three quality franchises cut off at the knees before their time. Has anybody else noticed the lack of quality in the new series compared with Farscape, Stargate, BSG, Eureka, and Sanctuary, etc?
I haven’t watched all of the above series to judge, but I am saddened by this news.
“We’re honoured to have been part of it”… liars. They’re not proud of any of the amazing things they did in the past. Sanctuary… Galactica… SGU… Atlantis… SG1… FARSCAPE… they don’t care about any of it. Damn them. Damn the network to total collapse because that’s what they deserve.
I haven’t watched Sanctuary, but am sad for all its’ fans that it is not coming back. Syfy has fewer and fewer worthy shows left and I no longer watch the network. This show seemed to be a little bit of Stargate that lingered on and now that has finally been killed too. Very sad day for all.
“SyFy has a number of scripted dramas in development, including Defiance and Rewind” – uh, those are the ONLY new scripted dramas SyFy has in official development. AND WHY AREN’T THEY THINKING OF DOING A KICKSTARTER?! IT WOULD WORK!
It’s official then… once Eureka ends, there are ZERO shows on SyFy that I have to watch. Good bye SyFy… you suck!
Since I have all my Stargate eps on DVD now, I don’t have to look to SyFy for any more TV viewing *period*.
I’ve officially signed off from Syfy as of today…
I used to have a reason to watch SyFy. Now a days,not so much.
Can’t say I’m surprised to be honest. When was the last time that Syfy didn’t try to kill off decent shows on their network?
SyFy and other Networks have pretty much killed what science fiction was on television.There will be the last 13 Episodes of Fringe on Fox.And there will be some more Eureka but other than those there is nothing I will really want to invest my time in watching seriously. I am now 56 and nearly every show I followed gets the Axe B4 it should of Ended. Someone needs to create a show and leave Hollywood out of the picture.Fund it on Kickstarter and each Season fill it with the stuff we all want for content and no cliffhanger Ending of… Read more »
Another one bites the dust. I am pretty much done with Syfy (not SciFi) until Warehouse 13 returns…These idiots don’t know SciFi if it walked up and said, “HIGH I’M SCIFI”. Ratings are not everything damn it. This show wasn’t even doing bad.
Not only is there nothing for me to watch on the worthless SYFY network, I don’t even have it coming to me on cable any longer as I cancelled the package that it was part of some time back – after SGU had been cancelled and after the last season of Sanctuary. I hope that when Stargate returns one day as a new TV series, that a reputable network such as Showtime will be interested, as they once were and continued to be for 5 great years, in featuring Stargate SG1 when it first began. The Sci-Fi network once had… Read more »
so, a movie then?
Sad…so sad. I hate when I get into a show, only for it to get cancelled.
Well, this is fairly depressing, at this point syfy hasn’t had a new show since Warehouse 13/SGU (whichever came later) that really got my attention. So Eureka is ending. And Warehouse 13 might get another season after this year, but probably not a 6th. Once Warehouse 13 is done, I will no longer tune in to Syfy. And at that, I DVR everything. The one plus, is that Amanda, Martin and Damian did a great job with the season 4 finale, and it actually serves as a good series finale… much better then SGU’s finale.
It has been a long time since SyFy had a original idea for a scripted show, they even picked up Stargate from Showtime way back when. All of their current scripted shows came from outside the US.
Maybe we need the SPACE sci-fi channel here in the US since SyFy barely airs sci-fi anymore…
90% of what sci-fi (crap name syfy) shows is garbage…. it is ruined forever… how a network can screw it’s fans over so bad is beyond anything in my lifetime
To start, I don’t watch Sanctuary, because it’s just not my cup of tea. Honesty, this was not something unexpected. However, this proves that Syfy has no balls. It’s typical of them to drag it out, and announce it when they think others are not paying attention. It’s a slow, cowardly drawn out PR death for a series. Just once, I wish they would have some balls and announce that they won’t renew a series way in advance so that the producers, writers, and crew get a chance to have a proper send-off. They always do it in an inopportune… Read more »
I think the only series on Syfy that had a real series final was BSG. Other series had a season finale and was not renewed. Even Eureka is one of those shows where the network didn’t have the balls to make a decision and stick with it. First it was renewed, then it would be cancelled, then they were going to renew it for a half season, then it would be their final season, then they decided to add an extra episode for a series finale. Just pick something and go with it, because the indecisiveness frankly just plays with… Read more »
On the first forum page of Syfy, you see four cancelations…this says it all in my opinion: They just don’t care about what people would like to see…it is just about money and hopefully, this will bring them to an end of their sooner or later…
http://www.picvalley.net/v.php?p=u/1977/162183812912563720271337672212lZo1ljjLllD9kmhgiHjB.JPG
Hey as much as I despise SyFy, it isnt their fault that Sanctuary failed the entire creative team had four seasons to do something special with Sanctuary but they were too lazy. They killed off a good character that fans reacted badly too and they created a good character in Tesla but didnt do enough with him and got rid of Druit, the only other interesting character left after Ashley was killed. They failed to create good quality story arcs in the four or so years that it was in broadcasting and because of that the ratings have been declined… Read more »
@Rivyn have you listened to the newest interview that Amanda and Martin did for gateworld? it pretty much sums up most of the things you just said hurt it, and they explained everything… Story arc – they never knew before they finished filming if they would get another season, which is why most of the arcs were 1 season long Jonathan Young (Tesla) – he is busy on stage so they had to work around his stage time, but thats also why we got to see more and more of him Druit – Its been so long since I watched… Read more »
Once again, SyFy you have made a MISTAKE.
[…] Series creator Damian Kindler arbeitet derzeit an dem Skript für den neuen TV-Serien Piloten Universal Soldier, und co-Star Christopher Heyerdahl (John Druitt, Bigfoot) wurde für eine wiederkehrende Rolle in HBOs True Blood gecastet, deren neue Staffel nächsten Monat im US-Fernsehen an den Start geht. [Quellen: TVLine, THR, Gateworld] […]
im starting to lose hope in ever having a new long running sci-fi show to watch, Everything seems to get cancelled now. We need a good quality sci-fi channel with proper good shows that us fans really want.
And they get cancelled for no reason. They want to go the who stupid reality route like the other networks. That crap is killing tv.
What a bunch of whiners!!! I love this show and that show sooo much that I just dvr it. I can then watch it whenever I want, so I don’t have to watch the “commercials”. I can’t believe The SyFy channel cares so much about money! Why can’t they be like ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW, HBO, and Showtime. Those guys never leave me hanging just because a show doesn’t show a profit or have good ratings. When is SyFy going to get it that its just about ME and what I want when I want it. Life is so… Read more »
Hey guys I have to agree Sanctuary got boring after a while and I only watched it because of support for Amanda Tapping cause I grew up watching her LOL. There are some good series on SYFY but not many sadly. I still want to know after watching the trailer why the hell Blood and Chrome isn’t being made? The trailer was amazing. Was this an entourage bit where the trailer is awesome but the end product is crap? I don’t know. I also hope I’m wrong that SG TV franchise is dead because I love the people and stories,… Read more »
Yet another sad end, made even worse by the lack of what I feel is good Sci-Fi on television.
I hope Netflix or Hulu is watching this situation. These are the two places, as Amanda and Martin eluded to. They have both been looking to pick up original programming and this would appear to be ready made.
Who knows, maybe we will get lucky.
Initial reaction sad about it, but considering where it ended I can at least have some satisfaction that it didn’t end on an unknown like so many other shows seem to be doing.
But yeah, shows seem to be getting cancelled a lot just when I have an interest. Can’t invest anything into a show anymore, theres just no point.
Lots of negativity. I’m disappointed too but I am sure we have not seen the end of Amanda Tapping! I don’t know what SyFy’s deal is either, but they do what they do and there is little we can do to change that. On the flip side they did give us 10 years…that is a LONG RUN….ten years of Stargate and 5 years of Atlantis. I would love to see them come up with a new Atlantis. They kinda messed up with the third Stargate but maybe they will bring another one back someday. I sure do miss Dr. McKay.… Read more »
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but canceling previous franchises did make a tiny bit of financial sense because SyFy funded the shows. Wasn’t Sanctuary privately funded? AT has made reference to their “backers” in some interviews. If it wasn’t a financial burden, why cancel such a cost efficient show? I’m Alphas, which is not very good, costs more to produce. Being Human is downright terrible, but I’m sure expensive. And Warehouse 13 is the next to say goodbye, due to cost.
@morrolan I agree with you, and I’m really glad that we got to hear that interview with Amanda and Martin before the announcement, that interview actually made me feel SO much better about the state the show is in. But I too, want to see Stargate and Sanctuary get more eps somehow
This is sad news for those in the show. Although I will admit, I stopped watching ALL SyFy programming once they cancelled Stargate Universe last year. I wish someone would pickup a Stargate show. Since then, I’ve watched what ever is recorded on my HTPC. Thank goodness I have hundreds of hours of programming recorded.
SYFY is getting cheap with everything. First we loose Stargate totally, now all the popular shows are disappearing. Although I never watched this one, I can see how Wrestling on Fridays and moving first run shows to other nights of the week is seriously affecting the ratings. Now I understand Battlestar Galactica Blood and Chrome may not go to series, they’re deciding that before airing the pilot movie. BSG and Stargate were at one time SYFYs biggest attractions and now thats gone. Cancelling Sanctuary is just another nail in the coffin, SYFY is DEAD. I am waiting for CBS to… Read more »
Browncoat give the jumpstart a rest. As ive said many many times , all fans should have publicly boycotted syfy way back when they cancelled sgu, Probably still have some of the shows we love still. U brought it all on yourself by doing nothing at all. Too late now to do anything. suck it up and move on , just dont put on syfail.
right on Heimdall ! I too blame the fans for all the shows getting the axe, No support and no outrage when threatened with cancellations. They just whine after the fact.
@3531767 1 thing you need to take in to account: if you don’t have a nielsen box, it doesn’t even matter if you watch it live. But, even if you don’t have it, and you DVR, they will see that you DVR the show and did watch it later. Knowing that I don’t have a nielsen box, I DVR everything to show that I like a show and want to see it, even if I’m watching it at the same time, I’ll then immediately watch it again. Another thing, are we supposed to just drop everything bcause its monday night,… Read more »
stopped watching this after season 2, sg1 and atlantis are still my all time favourites.
@Wraithkelso Save your breath, my friend…
There are still too many fans who are fans of blaming the fans for my tastes. *Incredible*
@Browncoat, et al-
Even though it’s probably a long shot at best, I would still support all of your efforts at a ‘jumpstart’ of SG of some kind.
I say: Disregard all those nay-sayers and ‘blame the fan’ bloviators. History’s Graveyards are filled with the carcasses of individuals who’ve never tried to do anything in their own miserable lives- just content to bray noisily on the sidelines at those actually *trying* to accomplish something…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/shareTweet/article2441663/
Only 2 shows left to watch on syfy after the end of Eureka. Haven and Warehouse 13. How much does anyone want to bet moving haven to the fall will kill it? Also, how much do you want to bet that warehouse 13 will be going the way of Eureka and sanctuary (each given a season with more than 13 episodes, then it gets cancelled the following season)? 5 more days until the one year anniversary of the cancellation of sgu, and 6 more days until the one year anniversary of the cancellation of my cable subscription. I don’t even… Read more »
SYFY sucks, what kind of name is SYFY anyway. I love this show and watch every episode. Its a shame that such an amazing show has been cancelled. SciFi used to be an amazing channel, hell it used to be my favorite channel to watch all my favorite shows. But ever since it became SYFY it all went to hell. Now all I got to watch is Eureka until Being Human comes back next January. Thanks for nothing SYFY you officially suck.
Well, I’ve kind of thought Syfy sucked since they canceled SGA and greenlit SGU, (but that’s another story)in this case, though,I don’t think they are entirely to blame. Look at that link I posted above, it seems a lack of funding from the Beedie group combined with bad timing and the Overlords at Comcast led to this unfortunate end.
3531767 – uh, how is NOT watching good TV shows helping to keep them going? So not watching SGU would’ve kept it going. That’s backwards logic.
that’s right Warehouse 13, and Haven,, that’s it,, nada, zilch, nthing else to watch on sc-fi’
***sigh** fi….
@Sylvia
Thanks for the link. *Very* interesting facts about the main money-people behind “Sanctuary”…
The article referenced by Sylvia’s link certainly was enlightening. Apparently the plug was pulled after the patient had already flat-lined. One could hardly blame Sanctuary’s financiers for bailing when the returns were not forthcoming or anticipated.