Syfy has secured the UK premiere of Defiance, the epic new fantasy sci-fi drama, following a deal with NBCUniversal International Television Distribution. Originated for Syfy US, the series will make its UK debut on Tuesday, April 16th, just 24 hours after its US launch.
Defiance is an epic fantasy drama combining the scope of a sci-fi blockbuster with the intimacy of a small-town drama. Set in the near future, the series introduces an exotically transformed planet Earth, permanently altered following the sudden – and tumultuous – arrival of seven unique alien races. In this unknown and unpredictable landscape, the newly formed civilization of humans and aliens must learn to co-exist peacefully in a town called Defiance.
In an unprecedented approach to storytelling, marking the first-ever convergence of television and online gaming, the narrative premise of the series will also be depicted in a brand new open-world game, Defiance, developed in parallel by Trion Worlds. Viewers of the series will follow the action of the immersive character drama set in the boom-town of Defiance in St. Louis, Minnesota, and gamers will adventure in the new frontier of the San Francisco Bay area.
Whilst the series and the game feature an interconnected world and there are shared points of reference, they are powerful and complete stand-alone narratives and do not need to be experienced concurrently.
[quote by=”Adam Collings, Channel Director Syfy UK”]Defiance is a high-quality sci-fi adventure about aliens and humans attempting to co-exist that promises to be a key highlight in 2013 for Syfy and our viewers. We’re confident that viewers – both gamers and non-gamers alike – will be gripped by its action-packed story-telling and first-class production values.[/quote]
Defiance stars Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Graham Greene (Rafe McCawley) and Mia Kirshner (Kenya).
The series, produced by Universal Cable Productions, is executive produced by Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica; Hellcats) & Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Scott Stewart (Legion, Priest) directed the pilot; Michael Nankin will serve as supervising producer/director on the series.
Defiance starts Tuesday, April 16th at 9pm on Syfy. Look out for EF’s review of the pilot next Tuesday ahead of the show as well as on-going coverage and a full review of the game later this month.
