WITH SYFY’S NEW FALL LINE-UP
Fall Schedule Features Series Premiere of ‘Stargate Universe,’
Season Premieres of ‘Destination Truth’ and ‘Sanctuary’
And New Episodes of ‘Ghost Hunters,’ ‘Scare Tactics’ and ‘Warehouse 13’
New York, NY – July 20, 2009 – On the heels of its successful summer series launches, Syfy will continue its tradition of imagination-fueled original entertainment this fall with a strong line-up of series and season premieres, along with new episodes of some of its most popular returning shows. Syfy’s fall 2009 line-up includes:
NEW SERIES
Stargate Universe – New Series Premieres October 2, 2009 @ 9 PM (2-hour premiere)
Airs Fridays @ 9 PM Beginning October 9
Syfy’s upcoming one-hour series, Stargate Universe follows a band of soldiers, scientists and civilians, who must fend for themselves as they are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. The desperate survivors emerge aboard an ancient ship, which is locked on an unknown course and unable to return to Earth. Faced with meeting the most basic needs of food, water and air, the group must unlock the secrets of the ship’s Stargate to survive. The danger, adventure and hope they find on board the Destiny will reveal the heroes and villains among them.
Set to premiere in October 2009 with a two-hour special, the series stars Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty), Lou Diamond Phillips (Che, La Bamba), Ming-Na (ER, Vanished), Alaina Huffman, Louis Ferreira, David Blue, Jamil Walker Smith and Brian J. Smith with special guest stars, Grammyâ nominated recording artist, Janelle Monáe, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Gary Jones and Carlo Rota.
Edgier and younger in tone, Stargate Universe will take the franchise in a dynamic new direction, appealing to longtime Stargate fans and first-time viewers alike. The two-part premiere is being directed by Andy Mikita (Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1) and lensed by Rohn Schmidt (The Shield, The Mist). Robert Cooper and Brad Wright, of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, serve as executive producers and writers on the new series. Stargate Universe is distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.
RETURNING SERIES – SEASON PREMIERES
Destination Truth – Season 3 Premieres September 9, 2009 @ 9 PM
This fall, Syfy will premiere the 3rd season of it reality hit, Destination Truth. World traveler and intrepid explorer Josh Gates will return to host nine all-new episodes – each an off-the-map adventure in search of the answers to some of the world’s most intriguing unexplained mysteries.
This season on Destination Truth, Josh will travel to some of the most extreme locations on earth, including the isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and the heart of the world’s worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Viewers will also ride along on unprecedented investigations, including the world’s first overnight exploration of King Tut’s cursed tomb and pitch-black dives in ancient Caribbean caves.
A graduate of Boston’s renowned Tufts University, Josh holds degrees in archaeology and drama, and was recently inducted into The Explorers Club, a prestigious global organization dedicated to the advancement of exploration and field research. An avid scuba diver, he has participated in sub-sea archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, and his work as a photographer has taken him from sweltering African villages to the icy heights of the Himalayas. In addition, he has scaled “the roof of Africa” on Mt. Kilimanjaro, climbed Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Americas, and set foot in more than 75 countries around the world.
Destination Truth is Executive Produced by Brad Kuhlman for Ping Pong Productions (1000 Places to See Before You Die, Celebrity Rehab, FM Nation). Bechara Gholam will serve as co-executive producer.
Sanctuary – Season 2 Premieres Friday, October 9 @ 10 PM
Syfy’s groundbreaking hit original series Sanctuary, the first TV show based on an online series to be picked up for a second season, will return to Syfy this October.
Sanctuary follows the adventures of the beautiful, enigmatic and always surprising Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping), a brilliant scientist who holds the secrets of a clandestine population — a group of strange and sometimes terrifying beings that hide among humans. Along with forensic psychiatrist Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) and her fearless daughter Ashley (Emilie Ullerup), Magnus seeks to protect these threatened phenomena as well as unlock the mysteries behind their existence. Joining the cast in season 2 is Agam Darshi as Kate Freelander, a con artist and thief who finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus. Sanctuary also stars Ryan Robbins as tech wiz Henry and Christopher Heyerdahl as the sinister John Druitt.
Special guest stars this season include Christopher Gauthier (Eureka) and Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1).
Created by Damian Kindler (Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis), Sanctuary is produced in association with Syfy and is distributed by Tricon Films and Television. Season 2 of the series is executive produced by Damian Kindler, Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood and Keith Beedie.
RETURNING SERIES – NEW EPISODES
Scare Tactics – Season 3 Episodes Return Tuesday, October 6 @ 9 PM
Syfy’s hidden camera reality show, Scare Tactics, is hosted by famed comedian, Tracy Morgan. The hit series captures its frightened victims who have been set up by friends and loved ones. Unsuspecting victims are placed into elaborately staged scary situations involving movie-style special effects and makeup. The horror hoaxes are skillfully designed to tap into the wildest fears of the prank’s prey. Viewers laugh along to the hilarious reactions of the show’s “stars” as they are caught off guard and on camera. Scott Hallock and Kevin Healey of Hallock Healey Entertainment are the executive producers and creators of Scare Tactics.
Ghost Hunters – All-New Episodes Throughout the Fall – Wednesdays @ 9 PM
Featuring special guest investigators MEATLOAF and JOSH GATES
This fall, Syfy presents all-new episodes of Ghost Hunters every Wednesday @ 9 PM. Get in the spirit with Jason, Grant and the rest of the TAPS team as they embark on chilling new investigations, including a host of historic haunts as well as some of the most daunting locales featured on the show yet, such as the massive, long-abandoned Essex County Hospital in New Jersey.
In October, music superstar and longtime Ghost Hunters fan Meatloaf will join the team as a guest investigator in a special episode featuring a home in Thousand Islands, NY, one of last year’s finalist locales in the Great American Ghost Hunt contest.
Ghost Hunters is produced in association with Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Films and Television (Dirty Jobs, The Ultimate Fighter, My Fair Wedding). Piligian and Thomas Thayer, along with Rob Katz and Alan David, serve as executive producers.
Warehouse 13 – All-New Episodes Throughout September – Tuesdays @ 9 PM
Syfy’s newest one-hour hit dramedy series Warehouse 13 continues through September 22 with a host of special guest stars including Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Hogan and Mark Sheppard; Gossip Girl’s James Naughton; Roger Rees of Cheers; Eureka’s Joe Morton, Erica Cerra and Niall Matter; and Stargate Atlantis’ Joe Flanigan.
Warehouse 13 follows two Secret Service agents who find themselves abruptly transferred to a massive, top-secret storage facility in windswept South Dakota which houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government. The Warehouse’s caretaker Artie (Saul Rubinek) charges (Pete McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) with chasing down reports of supernatural and paranormal activity in search of new objects to cache at the Warehouse, as well as helping him to control the warehouse itself. Warehouse 13 also stars Allison Scagliotti as Claudia Donovan and CCH Pounder guest stars as Artie’s boss, Mrs. Federic.
The series is produced for Syfy by Universal Cable Productions. It is executive produced by Jack Kenny (The Book of Daniel) who also serves as showrunner. David Simkins (Dresden Files) is executive producer; and Stephen Surjik (Monk, Burn Notice) is producer/director of the series.
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 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)
Okay thats great but is it the same for canada, on the space channel?????
Am I crazy or have they forgotten to mention Richard Dean Anderson as a special guest? Idiots!
I’m still waiting on the “Confirmed! Entire SG-1 Series on Blu-ray!” article.
Im still waiting on the “OH CRAP, we really messed up when we canceled Atlantis and will bring it back post-hast” announcement
“Edgier and younger in tone, Stargate Universe will”
appeal to the kids and scare the adults away *g*
I expect that Canada (SPACE) and the U.K. (Sky1) will be airing new episodes a few days after Syfy. They haven’t announced their schedules yet, to my knowledge, but we’ll keep our ears open and report it when it’s confirmed.
I sure wish you were announcing SGA’s 6th season return along with this. so sad.
Thanks Darren!!!!! your awesome!!!!
Ok.. In an article posted her it said that the gate has the ability to dial 7,8 or 9 symbols ok so just dial earth… How can they be stuck… Again another fact that totally messes with accepted theory..
@Katana
I imagine they will explain why they can’t dial earth in the actual pilot episode, wouldn’t they. In the end, you have to watch it and find out.
I hate that Atlantis was cancelled (I will miss characters like Rodney McKay), but I can’t hold that against Universe, one has nothing to do with the other.
@Kitana: I expect this will be explained. The only thing we know about a 9-chevron address so far is that it allows one to dial TO the Destiny, provided you have sufficient power. There is no indication that a 9-chevron address can take you anywhere else, such as back home.
I suspect that an 8-chevron address would be needed to reach Earth from another galaxy (as in Atlantis). But since the ship is moving, it may be a matter of simply never knowing what that correct address is.
@Katana
See, to my mind Universe has EVERYTHING to do with cancelling Atlantis, and so, yes, I can hold it against them! But that’s only my opinion, I’m sure most others do not agree and will give it a shot.
@ Sylvia I think you meant to send that comment to me, not Katana (Kitana). I disagree. There are many things in life that are facts. Gravity is a fact, for example. There are many that are opinions, such as the “gay marriage” issue, the “abortion” issue, etc. In the case of Universe being on the air and causing Atlantis to be cancelled, that is factually not true. Sci Fi announced Universe (and pre-production had begun) LONG before a decision on Atlantis was reached. I wonder if it is an age thing. 5 years of ANY show (nonetheless a science… Read more »
@GateHunter
Really??? We’re still caught up on the ‘young’ thing? You obviously have not been paying attention to anything related to Universe for say… 4 months.
@dekion as I said, it’s only my opinion. But if you look at all the interviews surrounding the cancellation, it is quite clear that Syfy was willing to run another season, if the producers and MGM had delivered it. They chose not too, as Brad Wright and Co. wanted to devote their time, resources and energy to create the best show they could, in their opinion, Universe. They seem to have felt dividing their focus between two shows would have not have enabled them to make SGU in the fashion they wanted to. It was their business and creative decision,… Read more »
@ Sylvia Your “old wife” analogy is awesome. I am not kidding. I teach English, and that is a fantastic analogy. We have to bear in mind the decision to cancel Atlantis or renew it would have to be made before preproduction on a season 6 would have happened. Therefore, SyFy (Scifi, whatever) said “no,” then the producers made the best of it. Only an idiot would pass up the chance to have 2 shows on at once, that means more exposure, etc. I would have loved to have seen more of Atlantis (and SG-1 for that matter, I felt… Read more »
And on that day, the TRUE Stargate fans weeped a thousand tears as the name of Stargate fell from the heavens to lay in the mud that lives below. May Atlantis never lose it’s wonder and SG-1 never lose it’s purity and if the good Lord be willing, may Universe go down in flames to the pit of grim darkness from wence it came.
Shout if you still love the old days!
I’m shouting Catwink can you hear me lol RIP SGA :-( Sylvia – couldnt agree more an dekion, Brad Wrong/Cooper are on the record for saying that they didnt want to do 2 shows again, as it was so tiring for them “all together now ahh bless” It would have been a win win with both shows, everyone happy. An a movie YOU REALLY believe we gonna get a movie,well when the actors ACTUALLY get signed or say EVEN know anything about it then maybe just maybe we will see! Long Live GOOD ENTERTAINING SCI FI, you know like Atlantis,… Read more »