On the heels of canceling Dominion after two seasons, Syfy also has canceled its former companion, Defiance, after three seasons. Defiance was a big financial investment and a content experiment for Syfy; it was developed in a partnership with Trion Worlds as a convergence of television and online gaming. After a…

UPDATED: The current creative revamp at Syfy kicked off at the end of last year with a series pickup to drama Dominion. Now that series has been renewed for a second season with a 13-episode order. Writer/executive producer Vaun Wilmott, who developed the drama based on characters from the 2010 feature Legion, will be…

A killer virus being barely contained in the Arctic was the launch point for Syfy's new thriller series Friday. While that's the premise of the series, Helix wasn't exactly bubonic with viewers for its premiere. Despite a strong visual and panel Comic-Con presence last summer plus some hefty promotion, the 90-minute…

Thomas J. McLean is an AwardsLine contributor. While television visual-effects producers are far from immune to the same market forces that recently have rocked the film world, the serial nature of TV and its inherent short deadlines allow facilities and effects artists to find a satisfying and stable niche. "The…

Jim Murray (CBS’ Chaos) is joining the second season of Syfy’s Defiance as a new regular. On the show, developed in partnership with gamer Trion Worlds, Murray will play Niles Pottinger, the new mayor of Defiance. Appointed by the Earth Republic, Pottinger is shrewd, polished and charming. But his civilized veneer…

A massive financial investment and solid ratings have led to a second-season renewal for Syfy‘s Defiance, which has received a 13-episode order. Season 2 of the show, produced by Universal Cable Productions, will begin production in Toronto in August for a 2014 premiere, returning as anchor of Syfy's Powerful Mondays…

With OK ratings and a big financial commitment by Syfy, the network’s new video game-tied drama Defiance is likely to get a second season. But if/when it does, it will be without executive producer Michael Taylor. Taylor was one of three writing executive producers on the first season, which has been completed, along…

Former Walt Disney Television International and Nickelodeon exec Nicky Douglas will oversee Universal Networks International’s Universal Channel, Syfy, E! Entertainment Television, The Style Network and Movies 24 in the UK. The group of channels has been ramping up its business in the territory with a series of…

Last night’s series premiere of Syfy's new drama Defiance drew 2.7 million viewers and 1.3 million adults 18-49 to become the channel's most-watched scripted series premiere in adults 18-49 and 18-34 (479,000) in seven years, since the 2006 debut of Eureka. The two-hour Defiance opener also delivered Syfy's top…

Wesley Snipes Comeback Effort Kicks Off With ‘Gallowwalkers’ In advance of the former action star’s impending release from federal prison, Wesley Snipes is trying to get back into the game with the announcement that Gallowwalkers, the long-in-development action/sci-fi/horror film…

Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage. Syfy's Defiance — a drama series that will exist as both a TV series and a video game in collaboration with Trion Worlds — will have its series premiere April 15 at 9 PM with a two-hour episode launching a total of 12 episodes, the cable channel announced…

Syfy‘s upcoming Defiance is set on a future Earth ravaged by interstellar war and inhabited by surviving humans and aliens. The series was developed to debut simultaneously in April 2013 with Trion World’s multi-platform shooter MMO game. It stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime…