Syfy Greenlights Space Travel Miniseries ‘Ascension’

With event programming making a comeback, Syfy signaled its return to the arena last year when it ramped up miniseries development with such projects as Warriors Of Oz, from director Timur Bekmambetov and four-hour minis based on Larry Niven’s Ringworld and on Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End with producer Michael De Luca. Now the cable network has greenlighted its first miniseries since 2009’s Alice: the six-hour Ascension, which will premiere in the fourth quarter. It marks one of the first major greenlight decisions for Syfy’s new head of original programming, EVP Bill McGoldrick. His predecessor, Mark Stern, serves as executive producer on Ascension alongside microbudget horror film king Jason Blum. Written/exec produced by Philip Levens (Smallville), Ascension is set onboard starship Ascension. In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, the mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission. The series will be produced in Montreal by Sea To Sky Studios in association with Blumhouse Productions. Sky to Sky’s Ivan Fecan, Tim Gamble and Brett Burlock also exec produce the event series, co-financed and distributed by Universal Cable Prods. and Lionsgate TV. Syfy’s miniseries history also includes Battlestar Galactica, which became a series, and Steven Spielberg’s Taken.