The new NBCUniversal streaming service that the company said Tuesday would be called Peacock will launch in April 2020 with original content that includes series reboots from the NBCU library among its fare. That list includes the return of a sci-fi classic: a new Battlestar Galactica, billed as an original series from Mr. Robot and Homecoming executive producer Sam Esmail.
Not much is revealed about the location, but we hear Esmail is a huge fan of BG and told NBCU brass it was high on a list of titles he wanted to tackle under the mega new four-year overall deal he closed at NBCU’s Universal Content Productions earlier this year.
Details about the new take on the beloved drama are being kept under wraps, though sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that it will be an updated, more modern look at the world as told through the lens of the sci-fi favorite. The updated Battlestar Galactica, sources say, will be inspired by Syfy's 2004 series, developed by Ron Moore, and not based on the 1978 original from creator Glen A. Larson.
"BSG fans, this will NOT be a remake of the amazing series @RonDMoore launched because ... why mess with perfection? Instead, we’ll explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar. So say we all!" Esmail tweeted Tuesday.
Esmail is attached to executive produce. A writer has not yet been hired. The drama hails from Universal Content Productions, where Esmail remains under an overall deal. UCP produced the original series. Esmail's manager, Chad Hamilton at Anonymous Content, will also exec produce.
Larson's original BSG, starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict, ran for one season in the late '70s before being canceled. A fan campaign led to a 10-episode revival, Galactica 1980.
Moore's BSG, meanwhile, started as a re-imagining of the original series and originally aired as a three-hour miniseries in December 2003 on Syfy. The pilot proved so successful that Syfy launched it into a weekly series starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park. Moore's BSG ran for four seasons and remains a critical favorite. It spawned two spin-offs, the one-season run Caprica and web series turned TV movie Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome.
For Esmail's part, the showrunner renewed his overall deal with UCP in February after being among the more highly pursued writer-exec producers. Sources say he was close to a deal with Amazon when UCP stepped up with a rich counteroffer to keep him in the fold, with the goal of having him be a central contributor to the streamer. BSG comes as the show that put Esmail on the map, USA Network's Mr. Robot, wraps its run this year with its fourth and final season. He is also exec producing USA's Briarpatch, starring Rosario Dawson, and Amazon's Homecoming.
BSG will be Esmail's second show for NBC's streamer, joining Angelyne, the limited series starring his wife, Emmy Rossum, and based on a Hollywood Reporter feature. He's also adapting Fritz Lang's seminal 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis as part of his overall deal.
Not much is revealed about the location, but we hear Esmail is a huge fan of BG and told NBCU brass it was high on a list of titles he wanted to tackle under the mega new four-year overall deal he closed at NBCU’s Universal Content Productions earlier this year.
Details about the new take on the beloved drama are being kept under wraps, though sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that it will be an updated, more modern look at the world as told through the lens of the sci-fi favorite. The updated Battlestar Galactica, sources say, will be inspired by Syfy's 2004 series, developed by Ron Moore, and not based on the 1978 original from creator Glen A. Larson.
"BSG fans, this will NOT be a remake of the amazing series @RonDMoore launched because ... why mess with perfection? Instead, we’ll explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar. So say we all!" Esmail tweeted Tuesday.
Esmail is attached to executive produce. A writer has not yet been hired. The drama hails from Universal Content Productions, where Esmail remains under an overall deal. UCP produced the original series. Esmail's manager, Chad Hamilton at Anonymous Content, will also exec produce.
Larson's original BSG, starring Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict, ran for one season in the late '70s before being canceled. A fan campaign led to a 10-episode revival, Galactica 1980.
Moore's BSG, meanwhile, started as a re-imagining of the original series and originally aired as a three-hour miniseries in December 2003 on Syfy. The pilot proved so successful that Syfy launched it into a weekly series starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park. Moore's BSG ran for four seasons and remains a critical favorite. It spawned two spin-offs, the one-season run Caprica and web series turned TV movie Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome.
For Esmail's part, the showrunner renewed his overall deal with UCP in February after being among the more highly pursued writer-exec producers. Sources say he was close to a deal with Amazon when UCP stepped up with a rich counteroffer to keep him in the fold, with the goal of having him be a central contributor to the streamer. BSG comes as the show that put Esmail on the map, USA Network's Mr. Robot, wraps its run this year with its fourth and final season. He is also exec producing USA's Briarpatch, starring Rosario Dawson, and Amazon's Homecoming.
BSG will be Esmail's second show for NBC's streamer, joining Angelyne, the limited series starring his wife, Emmy Rossum, and based on a Hollywood Reporter feature. He's also adapting Fritz Lang's seminal 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis as part of his overall deal.
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