While chatting with Variety in Berlin, producer Dean Devlin (best known for Independence Day and Stargate) discussed the sci-fi series The Ark and spoke about the "blooming" TV market. According to the producer, if you're trying to appeal to a younger audience, you must view what they watch. Still, according to Devlin, he isn't trying to narrow his fanbase to one market. He stated, "It's no longer all about gender or age demographic. If you go to a sci-fi convention, they are not just kids, they are not just older people. It's everybody!"
He continued, "I don't pay any attention to trends. When we did 'Stargate,' every studio in Hollywood said that science fiction was dead. And then we had a hit. I wrote this thing as a sort of love letter to the kind of science fiction I grew up watching. My mom was on the original 'Star Trek'! I wanted to make a throwback series and then let it develop over time, in unexpected areas."
The new sci-fi series The Ark was created by Devlin and Jonathan Glassner and is produced by Devlin's Electric Entertainment and Balkanic Media. The SYFY show follows the remaining crew of spacecraft Ark One on a mission meant to ensure the survival of the human race. NBC Universal Global Networks Germany picked up the show.
Dean Devlin Said, "Escapist Entertainment Is More Valuable" During Tough Times
Syfy
Devlin stated, "When you have times that are difficult, escapist entertainment is more valuable. Science fiction really lends itself to that. The whole world has just gone through trauma, so the idea of getting an hour a week to think about something other than economy and health is welcomed."
Still, while Devlin called the current film market "a bit depressing," he noted that the television market is "blooming." He said, "We had a film last year, called 'The Deal,' and we are about to start another in May. But unless it's a Marvel movie or horror, you are basically making it to sell to a platform. If you are already spending all this energy, you might just as well make a series."
The producer added, "I think we will see more and more platforms licensing shows again instead of owning them. While it will create more competition for me, it will also give me more places where I can go and make shows. At Electric, we have never done a show where one platform owned it."
Next, Devlin plans to try his hand at unscripted work. He said, "It came from a guy who was in one of my movies as a teenager. He went on to become a war hero and now pitched me this idea for a reality show." Still, that's not the producer's only project. Devlin is also working on Almost Paradise. He stated that the intention is to produce original work for FAST channels (those that are free and ad-supported) and AVOD platforms, to create live events, and continue to expand on the app, Electric Now.
He said, "We just expanded to Australia, with the U.K. and Canada as the next stop. We realized that we had this vocal fanbase for 'The Librarian,' for 'Leverage,' and yet they didn't actually know each other. If you like one of our shows, you will probably like the rest. We created an app where we can aggregate our fans together and we can activate them to see whatever else we are doing."