Cougar Town's Brian Van Holt To Captain Syfy's Ascension

Cougar Town standout Brian Van Holt is boarding Syfy’s Ascension, according to Entertainment [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Cougar Town standout Brian Van Holt is boarding Syfy's Ascension, according to Entertainment Weekly. 

Van Holt joins a cast that includes Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer in what's being identified as a limited series thriller set in space.

Ascension is a six-hour drama created and written by Smallville's Philip Levens, who will serve as showrunner. The series will debut in November.

Here's the official synopsis, also via EW: "Ascension is about starship secretly launched from Earth in the year 1963, sending hundreds of men, women and children 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."

Van Holt, who has also appeared in Black Hawk Down, will play the ship's captain, described as "a natural leader, a military man and politician … strong-willed and confident."

He's got some experience as a captain -- albeit on a landlocked and un-seaworthy motorboat -- on Cougar Town.

Van Holt's character, named William Denninger, became captain of the Ascension as a result of his heroic actions during a fire that nearly destroyed the ship early in its voyage. While strong-willed and confident, he and his wife, Viondra (Helfer), have a tortured marriage.

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