The cast of the George R.R. Martin book turned Syfy TV show Nightflyers has been revealed. The series, based on the novella of the same name by the Game of Thrones creator Martin, was officially picked up by the Syfy channel this past September, with an impressive budget for its 10-episode first season.

The series description reveals that the show follows eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath, who embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system in the hopes of contacting alien life. They travel aboard The Nightflyer: a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain. However, 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 1980 novella was previously adapted into a 1987 film by writer and producer Robert Jaffe.

Syfy has now officially unveiled the main cast for the Nightflyers TV series. Gretchen Mol will be starring as Dr. Agatha Matheson, along with Eoin Macken as Karl D’Branin, David Ajala as Roy Eris, Sam Strike as Thale, Maya Eshet as Lommie, Angus Sampson as Rowan, Jodie Turner-Smith as Melantha Jhirl, and Brían F. O’Byrne as Auggie. The series will be produced by Universal Cable Productions, with Netflix co-producing and having first-run rights to the series outside of the United States


Writer Jeff Buhler penned the adaptation of Nightflyers for television and will continue to executive produce, along with showrunner Daniel Cerone. The series has a long list of additional executive producers, including George R.R. Martin, Gene Klein, David Bartis, Robert Jaffe, and Doug Liman of Hypnotic. Alison Rosenzweig and Michael Gaeta of Gaeta Rosenzweig Films will also executive produce, along with Lloyd Ivan Miller and Alice P. Neuhauser of Lloyd Ivan Miller Productions. Andrew McCarthy will also be a producer/director on the project, with Mike Cahill helming the pilot.

Martin will not be involved with the series on a day-to-day basis, since he is working on finishing the highly anticipated next book in his Song of Ice and Fire saga, The Winds of Winter. Speaking of Game of Thrones, we can see Nightflyers becoming just as popular as the hit HBO series with stars like Gretchen Mol and Eoin Macken. Mol is best known for her roles in in the films Rounders, Celebrity, 3:10 to Yuma, The Thirteenth Floor and The Notorious Bettie Page. She also appeared as Gillian Darmody in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Macken is best known for his role in the BBC series Merlin as Sir Gwaine and the NBC series The Night Shift as T.C. Callahan. He also directed several feature films, including Christian Blake in 2008, Dreaming For You, The Inside, and Cold.

Source: Syfy