Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
The ‘Stargate’ & blockbuster pedigree behind SYFY’s new original space-set thriller ‘The Ark’
The Ark might be a new SYFY series, but the creators should be familiar to Stargate fans.
The duo behind SYFY’s new original series The Ark bring a whole lot of deep space adventure experience to the project — including key roles in another fan favorite sci-fi franchise: Stargate.
The Ark was created by Dean Devlin and is set 100 years in the future, following the survivors of a planetary colonization mission that goes off the rails in the depths of deep space. When the ship’s entire leadership team is killed, the younger crew members are forced to step up and keep the mission going — while also piecing together what happened to throw the mission off course in the first place.
Devlin (Independence Day, Stargate) and Jonathan Glassner (Stargate SG-1) are co-showrunners and executive producers alongside Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan-Wilson of Electric Entertainment. Jonathan English of Balkanic Media and Steve Lee serve as producers. The series stars Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman, Reece Ritchie, Stacey Read and Ryan Adams.
Of note for Stargate fans, Devlin was a producer and co-writer of the original 1994 Stargate film alongside Roland Emmerich. That kicked off the massive sci-fi franchise with a film starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, featuring the first team to use the Stargate and face off with a false alien god.
Beyond Stargate, Devlin’s wider sci-fi credits are extensive, having produced Independence Day, 1998’s Godzilla, Eight Legged Freaks, Independence Day Resurgence and Geostorm (which he also directed). On the television side, Devlin produced the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries The Triangle, The Librarians series (and several of its TV movie spinoffs), The Outpost, Leverage and revival series Leverage: Redemption.
The Ark co-producer Jonathan Glassner brings his own Stargate experience to the series, though on the TV side. Glassner co-created Stargate SG-1 with Brad Wright and served as a producer for around a decade on Stargate SG-1. That series went on to spawn spinoffs Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, plus a handful of direct-to-DVD film sequels.
Glassner has been around the genre for decades, serving as a producer on Falling Skies, The Outer Limits, Odyssey 5, The Invisible Man and The Outpost. He also has writing credits on classics like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Freddy’s Nightmares, the 1989 War of the Worlds, Time Trax and Star Trek: Voyager.
The Ark premieres Feb. 1 on SYFY, with episodes streaming next-day on Peacock.
Looking for other sci-fi series in the meantime? Brave New World and Battlestar Galactica are now streaming on Peacock.
