Defiance | Geekscape

SDCC 2014: Syfy’s Defiance: Spoilers and Secrets

by S.J. BorgerJuly 31, 2014

Geekscape sat down with the executive producer, and series creator, Kevin Murphy, and Defiance cast members Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr), Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr), Jesse Rath (Alak Tarr) at Comic Con last week to talk about the show’s second season.

Spoiler Warning: There are some in the article below.

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: SAN DIEGO -- "Defiance Press Room/Panel" -- Pictured: (l-r) Julie Benz, Grant Bowler, Stephanie Leonidas, Jesse Rath, Jaime Murray, Tony Curran, and Executive Producer Kevin Murphy -- (Photo by: Evans Vestal Ward/Syfy) — COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: SAN DIEGO — “Defiance Press Room/Panel” — Pictured: (l-r) Julie Benz, Grant Bowler, Stephanie Leonidas, Jesse Rath, Jaime Murray, Tony Curran, and Executive Producer Kevin Murphy — (Photo by: Evans Vestal Ward/Syfy)

So the big news everyone was talking about is, of course, that Mia Kirshner’s Kenya is returning to the show mid-season. After her seeming murder by Stahma Tarr (Jaime Murray) at the end of last seasons, Kenya’s fate as been surrounded in mystery. While the details of her return are fuzzy, she will be back, returning in the Aug. 7 episode.

Meanwhile, the Tarr family drama will continue, with Datak running into more legal troubles.

“I think that, in the end, Stahma loves Datak. But in season one, she was trying to control events subtly, from within the strictures of her society. I think in season two Stahma is starting to get used to being an active, outward part of the town, and the business.” said Murray. “But in the end, her and Datak have been through too much, and are too entwined emotionally, to ever leave each other.”

Season two, which skipped forward nine months from the season one finale, has certainly shaken up the show, adding new characters and unraveling the lives of others.

“Amanda is really going through a lot.” said Benz, now a brunette, in keeping with her character’s darkening story line. “Losing Kenya and the mayorship was a big blow. She’s using drugs, there’s the whole device implanted in the brain issue. She’s gone a lot darker and has a lot of issues she has to deal with.”

Amanda Rosewater isn’t the only character dealing with dramatically changed circumstances.

“We definitely shook up the world of Defiance as much as we could.” said Murphy. “And for season three, it’s going to be even more of an upset.”

Defiance still has not been confirmed for a third season as of yet, however Murphy has said it will cover the Pale Wars and what happened to each person during that time.

Check out the Comic Con exclusive season two trailer here and let us know what you think in the comments!

SDCC 2014: Syfy Brings Original Programming to San Diego

by S.J. BorgerJuly 15, 2014

Fans of Sharknado (or at least, fans who love to hate Sharknado) and other Syfy original programming will have plenty to see next weekend at the San Diego Comic Con.

Syfy (does anyone else read this as sphy-e?) is hosting five panels at the Con: Sharknado 2, Defiance, Dominion, Helix and Ascension.

Sharknado 2

Sharknado 2 is the sequel-that-social-media spawned (after the twitterverse blew up over Sharknado) and the panel will feature Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Vivica A Fox, Kari Wuhrer, Judah Friedlander and Director Anthony C Ferrante. Join them to discuss the “social media and pop culture storm of the century.” Special we-shouldn’t-have-to-say-it-but-better-safe-than-sorry note: Functioning chainsaws are not allowed at the Convention.

The Sharknado 2 panel will be on Thursday, July 24th, from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. in room 6BCF (that’s a real room number. Honest).

Sharknado 2 will premiere on the Syfy channel on July 30th at 9/8c.

And in case you have no idea what a Sharknado is, here’s the trailer for the sequel:

Syfy will also have panels for it’s original television programming. Which it totally has. It’s not all WWE wrestling and Sharknado’s on Syfy channel, you guys!

Dominion

Dominion premiered on Syfy on June 19th, and airs on Thursday at 9/8c. It’s set after Armageddon, and mankind’s last bastion of safety is the City of Vega, which was Las Vegas (there’s a sin metaphor here somewhere). It takes place after the events in the movie Legion, where the war between Heaven and Hell has wrecked earth, and Mankind is pitted against Angels and Demons to survive. The panel will feature the series stars Chris Egan, Tom Wisdom, Roxanne McKee, Alan Dale and Anthony Stewart Head, as well as Executive Producer Vaun Wilmott.

The panel is on Friday, July 25th. from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in room 6DE.

Helix

Syfy will also be featuring a panel with the cast of Helix, so we can ask all those burning questions. Like “How did you get a second season?” and “Where exactly are you in the Arctic where it’s equally night and day all the time?”

The second season will premiere sometime in Winter 2015.

And, if you want to know what we really think about Helix, head over to our 10 Things Wrong With Helix article.

Kyra Zagorsky, Mark Ghanime, Jordan Hayes, Neil Napier, and Executive Producers Ronald D Moore and Steven Maeda, will be on the panel, which will be from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel in the Indigo Ballroom.

Defiance

Syfy’s Defiance is now in its second season.

Defiance returned to Syfy this summer for its second season. The show, which follows a group of diverse cross-section of humans and aliens attempting to live together on a terraformed Earth in the small frontier town of Defiance.

The popular multi-platform show is bringing its stars to Comic Con for a panel on Saturday, July 26th, from 1 pm to 2 p.m. at the Hilton Bayfromt Hotel in the Indigo Ballroom (hey, you can go for Helix and stay for Defiance!). The panel will feature Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Jesse Rath and Executive Producer Kevin Murphy.

Defiance airs on Thursdays at 8/7 c and check out the season 2 trailer below:

Ascension

Ascension marks Syfy’s return to the six-hour mini-series, which will debut in November of this year. Ascension follows a covert space mission, launched in 1963, that sent hundreds of people on a century long voyage to find another planet that humanity could survive on. The journey reaches its halfway mark when a murder on board causes the ship’s population to question the mission and their purpose.

Syfy’s Ascension panel will feature Tricia Helfer, Brian Van Holt, Andrea Roth, and Executive Producer Philip Levens, and will be from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 26th, in room 6DE.

Here’s a look at the (intriguing) trailer:

http://youtu.be/QpDVwfiLNRM

What do you think, Comic-Conners? Which panel is a must for you? All of them? None of them? Let us know in the comments!

Geekscape 293: ‘Warehouse 13’ and ‘Grimm’s David Simkins and ‘Lily’s Lynn Ayala!

by JonathanJune 7, 2013

After 3 weeks, Lynn Ayala returns to Geekscape towards the end of her successful Kickstarter campaign for ‘Lily’! This time she brings along Lily creator David Simkins, who just so happens to also be an Executive Producer on ‘Warehouse 13’ and ‘Grimm’! We talk a little about Lily and moving forward into production, where David got the inspiration for the character and how it has developed over the past year. We also talk about his career, which started with writing ‘Adventures in Baby Sitting’ and carried through stints on ‘The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.’, ‘Lois and Clark’, ‘Blade’ and more! We get some writing talk going! Plus! 6-Time Top Fuel champion racer Clay Millican calls in to teach us all what a real man sounds like… and more!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:40 — 25.5MB)

‘Defiance’ Renewed For Second Season!

by Derek KraneveldtMay 10, 2013

Defiance fans, you’re getting another season!

The series premiere was the second most watched episode in Syfy’s history, and ratings have been strong ever since, so this awesome news isn’t the least bit surprising.

Season two will consist of 13 episodes, with production beginning this August. I (disappointingly) haven’t started the series (or tie-in game) yet, but based on viewer reception and the previews that I’ve seen, it should be a fun ride.

Read the full press release below, and let us know what you think of the show!

New York, NY – May 10, 2013 – Syfy has renewed its groundbreaking series Defiance, giving a 13-episode second season order to the critically acclaimed hit that has catapulted Syfy to the top cable drama spot in the time period among adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers for three consecutive Mondays. Season two of Defiance, produced by Universal Cable Productions, will begin production in Toronto in August for a 2014 premiere, returning as the anchor of Syfy’s Powerful Monday’s block of primetime original series.

Redefining the transmedia experience, Defiance has distinguished itself with an unprecedented partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds, by creating the first-ever true convergence of television and online gaming. To date, the game has garnered more than 1 million registered accounts while making gaming history as the first online open world shooter to launch on three platforms simultaneously. As the collaboration between show and game continue into a second season, players will have the opportunity to further influence the world of Defiance.

Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica, Hellcats) resumes his role as executive producer and showrunner. Smallville’s Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin return as executive producers for season two and Michael Taylor serves as consulting producer.

“Bringing the rich world of Defiance to life has been in incredible team effort. We couldn’t ask for better partners than Kevin Murphy, his amazing cast and crew, and Trion Worlds,” said Mark Stern, President of Original Content for Syfy and Co-Head of Original Content for UCP. “We can’t wait to see where they take us in the second season.”

Set in the near future, Defiance features an exotically transformed planet Earth, its landscapes permanently altered following the sudden – and tumultuous – arrival of seven unique alien races. In this somewhat unknown and unpredictable landscape, the richly diverse, newly-formed civilization of humans and aliens must learn to co-exist peacefully. Each week, viewers follow an immersive character drama set in the boom-town of Defiance, which sits atop the ruins of St. Louis, Missouri, while in the game, players will experience the new frontier of the San Francisco Bay area.

The audience for its April 15 premiere was the second largest series premiere in the network’s history among adults 18-49, making it the biggest in nearly nine years in that coveted demographic, based on Live +7 Data. The premiere also delivered almost 4 million viewers (3,834,000) and has quickly become Syfy’s highest-rated original series this year in adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers. It has also received unprecedented attention as a transmedia event in partnership with Trion Worlds’ MMO game. Airing Mondays at 9pm, Defiance stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Graham Greene and Mia Kirshner.

Geekscape 286: Rabid Love with Paul J. Porter and Hayley Derryberry!

by JonathanApril 19, 2013

It’s time to talk about the horror movie ‘Rabid Love’ with writer director Paul J. Porter and star Hayley Derryberry! What 80s horror films did they use as inspiration and what were the challenges in putting together this small budget, indie horror film? Paul and Hayley’s friend Kimberly Wong comes on to talk about Coachella, take a few Instagrams and share in the passion! Matt Kelly rings up to talk the best death’s in the Friday the 13th movies and how Prophecy still rules supreme and Allie Hanley tells everyone to go see ‘Oblivion’, ‘Defiance’ and ‘DaVinci’s Demons’! We talk the awesome new ‘Man of Steel’ trailer and Shawn Madden makes sure to put all rumors about an expanded DC cinematic universe to rest! PLUS! We all meet American Bob!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:14 — 26.6MB)