Syfy continues the rapid expansion of its original slate with a 13-episode, straight-to-series order to Hunters (working title), an alien drama from The Walking Dead executive producer Gale Anne Hurd that is slated to premiere in 2016. Written by Natalie Chaidez (Heroes), the series is based on Whitley Strieber’s best-selling novel Alien Hunter. It chronicles the disappearance of a decorated Philadelphia cop’s wife, which leads him to a secret government unit assembled to hunt a group of ruthless terrorists — shadowy figures that may or may not be from this world. Hurd and Chaidez executive produce for Universal Cable Prods and Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment, which is based at UCP.
“We were so impressed by the pilot script from this outstanding and accomplished creative team led by Gale Anne Hurd and Natalie Chaidez,” said Syfy President Dave Howe. “This fast-paced and innovative program takes viewers inside a chilling yet all-too-familiar world.”
Related: 2014 Syfy Pilots
Since the end of last year, when Howe brought in Bill McGoldrick as new head of programming, Syfy has been actively greenlighting drama series and miniseries, often bypassing the pilot stage. The list includes drama Dominion, which already premiered, and the upcoming Ascension, The Expanse, 12 Monkeys, Killjoys, and Childhood’s End; Howe called it “a formidable lineup of diverse, high-end science fiction.”
Syfy also recently greenlighted the pilot The Magicians, based on Lev Grossman’s book trilogy.
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