Work progresses on Dark Matter season 2. Today brought a fresh round of auditions – and a handful of very strong candidates. Casting the part of Nyx is going to be especially challenging because our casting director, Lisa Parasyn, and her team have assembled some truly terrific talent. Some great choices among the candidates who auditioned for Devon, Misaki, and Arax Nero as well.
Construction on our new sets begins next week and we have some pretty amazing plans in the works (but you already know that, don’t you?). I’ll be sure to snap plenty of “Before” pics so that you can compare once the show airs next year.
Yes, with Dark Matter‘s second season still a ways away, here are a few visual tidbits to tide you over – a sneak peek at what we have in the works for you compliments of Production Designer Ian Brock, Art Director Russell Moore, Set Designer Doug Slater, and Concept Illustrator Sanford Kong…
Well, this is interesting. Apparently, Canadians are HUGE fans of science fiction television:
“During the 2014-2015 broadcast year Canadian TV sci-fi series Orphan Black on Space (4.3 million viewers*), Dark Matter on Space (3.7 million), Between on City Total and Killjoys on Space (both 3.2 million) each reached roughly 10% of the Canadian population. In addition, these shows performed above their respective channel averages in the very desirable 18-34 demographic.”
That’s 10% of the Canadian population that tuned into our little show.
Tell me more…
Not bad. It brings to mind another scifi series that far surpassed expectations when it aired on Canada’s Space Channel several years back. I’ll give you a hint…
Speaking of Stargate, the giveaways are enroute. We sent off the last one this morning. Akemi, as always, personalized each envelope…
Pictured above: Canadian bunny, coasters in hand, on his way through the stargate to gforce’s house!
Toronto-bound tomorrow morning! Hoping I can get some writing done on the flight.
“Dark Matter took a bloody trip down memory lane in its memorable sixth episode, giving us a huge insight into the history of some of the crew members, and adding new fuel to the raging nature vs. nurture debate.”
“While Dark Matter may be science fiction, it plays more like a mystery creating more puzzle pieces as it fits others in place. Part of the SyFy Friday lineup, this is addictive viewing.”
“Who is Titch, and what happened in their life to turn them into a hardened criminal? That was one of the key questions posed in Episode 6 of Dark Matter.”
” Although the hunt for resources is still center stage as the main problem to be solved in Dark Matter, some much-needed back story came out of “Episode Six,” and my expectations were sent into a tailspin. It’s a pleasant sort of disorientation, and the questions and theories these new details inspire greatly enhances my enjoyment of the series, which is quickly becoming a highlight of Syfy’s summer lineup.”
“The show is building on their drives and gives them each a reason to push forward and accomplish a specific goal. Once we figure out One, Two, and Three’s official pasts, we’ll finally be rounded out. Although I’m suspecting that their memory wipes were an agreed plan, I do like that each character isn’t tied to another in any specific way. Good diversity. More episodes like this please.”
” The future of the show depends on if Dark Matter can dole out information on these mysterious backstories while keeping the present interesting. It’s not an easy task, and to Dark Matter’s credit, it’s done a decent job of it up to now.”
And a nice little write-up of Episode 105 and the show in general I missed:
“Dark Matter then is a fantastic addition to Monday night television and, if the ratings stay strong, should become a nice little earner for the Syfy channel. It certainly has all the elements needed to go the distance, with good characters and a sense of mystery underpinning the story. “
And here is our updated global premiere rundown. New and improved! Now with added Portugal!
The cast, crew, and EP Vanessa Piazza and I (@BaronDestructo) will be live tweeting the event – both east and west coast feeds. Follow the #DarkMatter hashtag. Join us!
A final teaser promo from Space Channel: “Technically, she’s an android”…
***Post your spoiler-free Dark Matter-related questions in the comments section and I’ll answer them in tomorrow’s dedicated “Dark Matter Q&A” blog entry! U.K. and international post-premiere Q&A’s to follow!***
Today’s entry is dedicated to blog regular ponytail!
“Dark Matter’s 13-episode first season is destined to be an action-packed mix of drama, humour and adventure in the mould of Stargate and Firefly. Any similarity to the former is not coincidental given that Mallozzi and Mullie have a long history with that franchise.”
“I’m always drawn to the underdog a little bit, I’m drawn to those characters that are a little bit outside, a little bit quirky, a little bit disconnected. I think there’s a ton of places you can go. Even on Lost Girl I think every character felt a little bit like an outsider. It was a group of outsiders. They all sort of found each other and connected in that way.”
“When we started shooting, absolutely we were. We had read a number of episodes ahead as actors but one of the things that Joe and Paul did very, very well was keep secrets. Boy did they ever.”
“Thematically for the show, you have the two poles, in a way, of how to approach life,” Lemke explained. “We have the side that is very moral, and the other is very instrumental. Whatever you can do to live another day is kind of what my character is all about.”
Great Anthony Lemke (Dark Matter’s THREE) video interview:
“Dark Matter is poised to gallantly launch us all back into space and the visuals the show provides are a very big part of what makes this show so unique.”
“There is a lot of dark sci-fi out there that is great,” he explains. “But a lot of fans are missing a fun sci-fi series and there hasn’t been one on a ship-based show for awhile. We set out to make a fun show with a sense of humour while at the same time putting viewers on the edge of their seat every week.”
2016
BEST NON-GENRE NOVEL
- The Girls, by Emma Cline
BEST GENRE NOVEL
- Core of the Sun, by Johanna Sinnisalo
BEST NON-FICTION BOOK
- Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything, by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
BEST NOVELETTE
- Blood Grains Speak Through Memories, by Jason Sanford
BEST SHORT STORY
- “Against the Stream, by A. Due
BEST COMIC BOOK SERIES
- The Vision, by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta
2015
BEST NOVEL
- Beyond Redemption, by Michael R. Fletcher
BEST SHORT STORY
- “Today I Am Paul”, by Martin L. Shoemaker
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL
- Saga, vol. 5, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
2014
BEST NOVEL
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Claire North (Catherine Webb)
BEST SHORT STORY
- "The Mussel Eater", by Octavia Cade
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL
-Afterlife with Archie, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla
Top 20 Recent Reads
- Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter
- The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
- The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti
- The Core of the Sun by Johanna Sinisalo
- Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher
- Sharpe's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell
- So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
- The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
- Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
- Get Carter by Ted Lewis
- This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
- Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
- The Troop by Nick Cutter
- The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
- Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Comic Book Universe by Tim Leong
- We Are All Complete Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
