‘Nightflyers’ Cancelled by SYFY

The horror series Nightflyers, inspired by a George R.R. Martin novella of the same name, will not be renewed by SYFY, per The Hollywood Reporter.

The series “followed eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath who embark on an expedition to the edge of the solar system aboard The Nightflyer — a ship with a small tight-knit crew and a reclusive captain — in hopes of making contact with alien life. But when terrifying and violent events begin to take place, they start to question each other, and surviving the journey proves harder than anyone thought.”

The success of Martin’s Game of Thrones series on HBO has seen various studios and networks look to his many other exciting properties in hopes of finding the next massive hit. One key difference between Nightflyers and Game of Thrones, however, is that Martin didn’t have active involvement in the SYFY series, due in large part to his commitments to the HBO series and its upcoming prequel.

The series may have only been based on a novella, yet executive producer Jeff Buhler previously revealed he had plans in mind for multiple seasons.

“This really feels like the opening of a huge world,” Buhler shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “The Nightflyers novella is one of many stories that George has written in the ‘Thousand Worlds’ universe. In that universe, there are many planets, many species.”

This is only the latest cancellation of a horror series on the network, with word coming earlier this year that Channel Zero had concluded after its fourth season. That project was initially conceived as lasting for four seasons and, despite its successes, wasn’t renewed for any additional episodes.

Arguably the most surprising decision on behalf of the network recently was their decision to pass on a Tremors TV series, despite the project marking star Kevin Bacon’s first return to the franchise since the original 1990 film.

Upon news of the series not moving past the pilot stage, Bacon shared a photo from the set of the series on Instagram, adding the caption, “Sad to report that my dream of revisiting the world of Perfection will not become a reality. Although we made a fantastic pilot (IMHO) the network has decided not to move forward. Thanks to our killer cast and everyone behind the scenes who worked so hard. And always keep one eye out for GRABOIDS!”

Good news for genre fans is that a new series based on the Child’s Play franchise is currently being developed to continue the narrative of the original films.

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