We already knew that SYFY picked up George R.R. Martin’s sci-fi horror story Nightflyers awhile back, with the channel being impressed with how things were turning out. Martin to his LiveJournal page and revealed that Nightflyers will have a 10-episode first season, saying:
“with a substantial budget, one that should allow them to create a show that looks as good as modern audiences expect.”
Originally published as a science fiction short in 1980 by Analog Science Fiction and Fact, the story was turned into a 1987 film that didn't do very well at the box office. It starred '80s female lead Catherine Mary Stewart. The story sees nine academics head into space on the ship Nightflyer, prisoners to a madman intent on killing them. Martin wrote:
“Honestly, at first I was baffled as to how they hoped to get a series out of my story, since at the end of the novella…pretty much everyone is dead (it was a horror story, after all). But in May, UCP got me a copy of Jeff Buhler's script, and I saw how he'd dealt with that. It was a good read, and yes, I came away with a better idea of where they'd find a few seasons.”
Nightflyers will also be shot in the Republic of Ireland, which could lead to appearances from some Game of Thrones actors. Martin wrote this will give the production:
“access to the same great pool of Irish and British actors that Game of Thrones has tapped in Belfast”
“with a substantial budget, one that should allow them to create a show that looks as good as modern audiences expect.”
Originally published as a science fiction short in 1980 by Analog Science Fiction and Fact, the story was turned into a 1987 film that didn't do very well at the box office. It starred '80s female lead Catherine Mary Stewart. The story sees nine academics head into space on the ship Nightflyer, prisoners to a madman intent on killing them. Martin wrote:
“Honestly, at first I was baffled as to how they hoped to get a series out of my story, since at the end of the novella…pretty much everyone is dead (it was a horror story, after all). But in May, UCP got me a copy of Jeff Buhler's script, and I saw how he'd dealt with that. It was a good read, and yes, I came away with a better idea of where they'd find a few seasons.”
Nightflyers will also be shot in the Republic of Ireland, which could lead to appearances from some Game of Thrones actors. Martin wrote this will give the production:
“access to the same great pool of Irish and British actors that Game of Thrones has tapped in Belfast”