Battlestar Galactica Reboot Scrapped at Peacock

The Battlestar Galactica reboot that’s been in development at NBC/Peacock since 2019 is officially dead. The Peacock streaming service initially teased this new Battlestar Galactica series from Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot)  as part of the exclusive content it would offer, making it that much more ironic that Peacock subscribers won’t be getting it, now. 

Battlestar Galactica’s reboot series was once described as being set in the same universe as the 2000s series – though in what way, we never found out. Earlier this year we heard that the BSG reboot had tapped Derek Simonds (The Sinner) to be showrunner, to replace previous showrunner Michael Lesslie, after Lesslie dropped out of the project. 

It may not have helped that Esmail pitched a somewhat confusing series concept for the new Battlestar Galactica – one that would have allegedly played with the format of Television itself: 

“There might be episodes that are longer than others,” Esmail said. “There might be a three-episode arc. There might be a standalone episode that’s a half-hour long. We don’t want to put guardrails up at all. We want to do whatever’s best for each episode. And because I do believe in the episode model, I maybe share the frustration some critics have when showrunners go on and say ‘Well, it’s a 10-hour movie.’ That’s silly. It’s not. What we’re doing here is every episode you have the opportunity to change up the tone, to change up the story, to change up the point of view. So we’re going to lean into that, not shy away from it.”

It also didn’t help that Esmail didn’t exactly lead with confidence, when it came to doing full-on sci-fi: 

“I’m a huge fan of Ronald Moore’s Battlestar, but I don’t know if I’m great at hard sci-fi like that,” Esmail told THR in 2020. “I love it. I’m a fan of it. But I knew early on that we were going to have to bring somebody in to run the room and to write the scripts.”

What is Battlestar Galactica About? 

Battlestar Galactica (2004), helmed by Star Trek: The Next Generation alum Ronald D. Moore, reimagined the series for the 21st century. The new Battlestar Galactica reboot launched with a miniseries released on Syfy in 2003, followed by a series in 2004 that ran for four seasons full of tension and mystery. The modern Battlestar Galactica is still widely regarded as one of the best sci-fi television shows ever. The series spawned two made-for-television movies (Razor in 2007 and Blood & Chrome in 2009), and a prequel series titled Caprica, co-created by Moore. Caprica launched in 2010, running for a single 19-episode season.

Source: Variety