Exclusive: Rylend Grant says 24 producer on board for Aberrant television series

Rylend Grant's creator-owned Action Lab: Danger Zone military conspiracy comic, Aberrant, is a grounded take on what our real world would look like if superheroes actually existed. It stars David Colbrenner, a U.S. Army Special Operations Commander, whose unit is attacked and wiped out by a superhero. Though it's not clear who is definitively responsible, he's certain it's the billionaire and former superhero Lance Cordrey, so Colbrenner launches an all-out war against him.

Aberrant, which has just passed the midpoint of its original 10-issue story, is also being made into a television show, and Grant gives SYFY WIRE an exclusive update on where that stands. (You can also check out our exclusive preview of Aberrant's Season 2, as well as an exclusive preview of his upcoming comic, Banjax.)

Grant has worked in television from the writing and development side with producer Howard Gordon (Homeland), director Matt Shakman (Game of Thrones), and filmmaker F. Gary Gray (The Fate of the Furious). Now the experienced screenwriter is developing his own intellectual property into a television series, delivering the initial pitch, writing the pilot, and executive-producing, hopefully alongside an experienced showrunner.

"We’re in the packaging phase right now, trying to bring on a lead actor and an experienced showrunner," says Grant. "There exists a lights-out pilot script and a detailed bible that outlines the first 10-episode season, that starts to explore major plot and character threads in future seasons. It's been very well received and there are folks — folks who would move the Hollywood needle — that are interested. I’m confident that we’ll have things settled soon."

One name that's already in the mix is Tony Krantz, who produced Fox's popular counter-terrorism series 24. He's developing the Aberrant TV series under his Flame Ventures banner. Given that Aberrant is an action story with an one-man army element, Krantz is an intriguing name to be attached.

"Before Issue 1 was even released — Matt Corrigan, a podcaster friend, described Aberrant as '24 with superheroes.' I really liked the sound of that, and so I just straight stole it; I made it my quick, one-line elevator/con table pitch," says Grant. "So I guess it’s kind of fitting that the man behind 24 was the first to take an interest in the book as a film/TV property."

"Tony is quite simply one of the smartest people working in Hollywood today. He and his team showed a unique passion for the material. They have a great relationship with Netflix, where they are currently developing another big deal action show [the highly anticipated martial arts drama Wu Assassins, starring Iko Uwais]. It wasn’t hard to get excited about partnering with him," says Grant.

We'll keep you posted on future Aberrant developments, such as casting, a showrunner, and a network or streaming provider. In the meantime, catch up on all of David Colbrenner's escapades in the comics!