Syfy To Develop Remake Of Cult U.K. Sci-Fi Series 'Blake's 7' With Martin Campbell

EXCLUSIVE: Blake’s 7, the Georgeville Television-produced reboot of the cult British adventure/sci-fi series, has landed at Syfy. The cable network will develop the remake, which will be written by Joe Pokaski (Heroes) and directed by feature helmer Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). The project was taken out to US networks last month by Georgeville, the independent TV studio co-founded earlier this year by Leon Clarance of Motion Picture Capital, the financing arm of Reliance Entertainment, and producer Marc Rosen. Blake’s 7 has a script-to-series commitment, meaning that if Syfy likes the script, it will greenlight the project as a 13-episode series. Georgeville employed the same model with its first series, Neil Cross’s Crossbones, which will premiere on NBC in midseason.

Originally created by prolific British TV writer Terry Nation (Dr. Who), Blake’s 7 premiered on the BBC in 1978, running for four seasons. Referred to as “The Dirty Dozen in space,” the series centered around hard-core renegades and criminals who escape from a prison planet, battling humans and aliens alike – and becoming heroes. Despite its no-frills, low-tech special effects, Blake’s 7 was an international hit and still enjoys a fan following a quarter of a century after its launch. (Watch the show’s famous title sequence below.)

GVTV acquired the rights to the Blake’s 7 franchise from rightsholder Andrew Sewell and his company B7 Media with funding provided by MPC. Campbell, Pokaski, Clarance, MPC’s Deepak Nayar and Sewell will executive produce.