Syfy’s Vow: A Return To Serious Sci-Fi Shows

SyFy has promised to make the return to serious sci-fi programming. The TV network distanced itself from such programming following a massive rebranding effort. In the rebranding, the company added a double ‘y’ spelling to its name, and moved toward family friendly shows like ‘Warehouse 13’. Many views have become sick of the programs the station offers, and want them to go back to their more focused sci-fi roots.

SyFy’s rebranding worked for a little while, but Comcast/Universal are changing the station they own once again. Seeing that it is hard to get people to watch ‘Sharknado’ more than one time, they will restructure their programming to make it the television station it once was.

SyFy has promised to return serious sci-fi programming, and the stations head of original programming, Bill McGoldrick tells Entertainment Weekly:

In terms of where it was before with original content and some of the series that were on the air, maybe they were more procedural, more lighthearted in tone—and by the way, those shows worked really well for a long time. I’m referring to the Warehouses and the Eurekas. What we have in development now is more of a serious tone, more back to our roots.

McGoldrick also tells us why it is happening just now too.

I think when you look at the marketplace and you look at how passionate people are getting about shows—serialized shows specifically—the bar has been raised for the entire industry in terms of how well you have to execute your content to get that passionate core fan base that really acts as its own marketing in terms of word of mouth.

SyFy’s head of original content is right, it is hard to get people excited for shows like ‘Warehouse 13’ and ‘Eureka’ like they do for shows such as ‘Game of Thrones’ or ‘Orange is the New Black’. Television has become a new beast ever since ‘Breaking Bad’ finished its run, and shows must have great concepts and amazing characters.

SyFy has promised a quick sci-fi lineup change, returning to their roots that made them a powerhouse among geeks and even many non-geeks.