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Resident Alien Comic Adaptation Pilot Ordered by Syfy
Dark Horse announced today that Syfy has ordered a pilot based on their comic Resident Alien; the show will be adapted for television by Chris Sheridan, a former Family Guy writer. The original comic was co-created by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse.
The comic series, which began in 2013, has already released four miniseries installments, each comprising of four issues, with the fifth series having just began in April, to critical acclaim. Hogan has been a notable writer in comics for over two decades, with his most famous contribution perhaps being co-authoring Terra Obscura with Alan Moore. Dark Horse Entertainment will be producing the show, with Mike Richardson (30 Days of Night, Hellboy) and Keith Goldberg (The Legend of Tarzan) on as executive producers alongside Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV.
Resident Alien will follow the comic series about "a crash landed alien named Harry who, after taking on the identity of a small town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on earth - ultimately asking the question, ‘Are human beings worth saving?'" The comics additionally focused on a number of smaller narratives, with Harry solving mysteries in the the small town while being tracked by a shadowy government agency, suggesting how the series may play out on an episode-by-episode basis.
Resident Alien will join upcoming Syfy projects Deadly Class, itself based on a graphic novel, and Nightflyers, based on of George R.R. Martin novella of the same name. Their new slate appears to be leaning towards IPs that come with a built-in audience, which would be in line with their other popular shows such as Krypton, Channel Zero, and The Magicians, all also based on pre-existing material. With the recent cancellation and subsequent Amazon pick-up of The Expanse, Syfy has a hole in their programming they want want fill with genre programming. In addition to Resident Alien, they are also actively developing other series based of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle, and Dan Simmons’ Hyperion.
Sheridan, for his part, is an interesting choice to lead the project, as his previous writing credits have almost exclusively been either Family Guy or sitcoms like Yes, Dear and Titus. Hopefully, the comics' ability to balance humor with the dark procedural elements will be translated to the series. No other casting has been announced at this time.
