Battlestar
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I, sort-of, enjoyed the original series from the 1970s, simply because it was one of the few sci-fi shows out there. Took a while to get over the goofy names and the costumes. Capes? Really? But it was OK.
The 2003 reboot was great, until it wasn't. I found that it lost its way in the final season(s).
Now comes another re-imagining.
There is a new writer at the helm of Peacock‘s long-gestating reboot of the popular sci-fi franchise Battlestar Galactica. The Sinner creator Derek Simonds has come on board as writer, executive producer and showrunner.
Battlestar Galactica, which remains in development at Peacock, has been a passion project for Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail — a big fan of the original — whose company Esmail Corp. is producing the reboot through UCP where the company is based.
First announced as being in development at NBCUniversal’s streamer Peacock in 2019, the Battlestar Galactica reimagening previously had Michael Lesslie attached to write and executive produce.
A new take on the classic IP, the latest incarnation is executive produced by Simonds as well as Esmail Corp’s Sam Esmail and Chad Hamilton. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
“We are working on it,” Esmail told Deadline in October about the Battlestar Galactica series reboot. “And in fact, I just read a great outline and it’s in great shape. Because the strike is over now – at least the WGA strike is over – we’re back into developing it.”
The original Battlestar Galactica centered on the last group of humans on the verge of extinction after a series of wars with a robot race, The Cylons, destroyed the Twelve Colonies. All the humans are left in one remaining battleship group, anchored by the Galactica, as they search for their last option for survival: a fabled Thirteenth Colony known as Earth.
The original Glen A. Larson-created series, produced by Universal and starring Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Lorne Greene as Commander Adama, ran on ABC for one season in 1978-1979. It was followed by a short-lived sequel and several book and comics series, a board game and a video game as it gained cult status, if not commercial success.
UCP (then known as Universal Cable Productions) produced Ron Moore’s critically and commercially susessful 2003 revamp, which started as a miniseries before becoming a series, starring Edward James Olmos in Greene’s commander role, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackoff and Grace Park, which ran for four seasons and spawned a short-lived prequel, Caprica.
