Syfy Taps Majors, Sorbo for New Shows

[Zoneboy]

For its latest development slate, Syfy is calling up a few familiar action TV stars.
Lee Majors -- "The Six Million Dollar Man" or "The Fall Guy," take your pick -- and "Hercules" star Kevin Sorbo both have new projects in the works at Syfy, which plans to announce its new scripted development slate Friday.

Syfy appears to be especially interested in cultivating more half-hour shows, as well as series with a dose of humor.

Beyond the Majors and Sorbo projects, the cabler also has a new drama from the team behind "Sanctuary," as well as a zombie half-hour, a comedy/drama about supernatural villains, a space sudser and a "Office"-style comedy about aliens.

"One of our key agendas is to continue the extraordinary growth and momentum of our popular dramas," said Syfy programming exec VP Mark Stern. "Through partnerships with these formidable talents, in front of and behind the camera, we hope to expand our powerful brand by offering our viewers an imaginative next generation of programming."

Syfy is coming off strong numbers for newcomer "Haven," as well as returning series "Warehouse 13" and "Eureka."

Among the new projects in the works at Syfy: "Me and Lee," which centers on a young man with a bad back who's lured into a high-tech lab by Lee Majors -- who makes the guy bionic.

Matthew Salzberg and Jenji Kohan are writing and exec producing "Me and Lee,"

which also comes from Steven Pearl and Lionsgate.

Majors isn't the only one playing a tongue-in-cheek version of themselves: Sorbo will play Kevin Sorbo, a former syndicated TV star, in "Legendary."

The half-hour single-camera series, from David Eick and scribes Adam Karp and Royal McGraw, follows Sorbo as he's recruited by a fan to help defeat actual creatures that threaten to destroy Los Angeles.

Universal Cable Prods. is behind "Legendary."

Other projects in the works at Syfy:

-- "Human Relations," from "King of the Hill" alums John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, centers on an office temp who discovers that his new co-workers and boss are really aliens looking to destroy Earth.

Scott Prendergast is writing, while Michael Rotenberg and Tom Lassally will EP with Altschuler and Krinsky. Universal Cable Prods. is the studio.

-- "Sherwood," from the "Sanctuary" team of Damian Kindler, Martin Wood and Amanda Tapping, resets the Robin Hood story to the 23rd century.

Kindler is writing the project; My Plastic Badgers Prods. is behind the show.

-- "Ball and Chain" follows ex-lovers who are almost hit by a meteroite -- and then imbued with extraordinary powers that only work when they're next to each other.

Now, to save the world, they must work together -- even though their relationship is over.


Andrew Miller is writing and exec producing, while Bob Cooper is an EP.

Universal Cable Prods. is the studio, along with FremantleMedia North America.

-- "Orion," described as "National Treasure" meets "Firefly," is a space opera centering on a female relic hunter and he team. The crew looks to sell valuable items on the black market while avoiding bounty hunters.

Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain are writing and co-EPs, while George Krstic and Ryuhei Kitamura are also co-EPs. Universal Cable Prods. is behind the show.

-- "Zeroes" follows the "Zombie Extermination and Removal Operations," which must figure out how to keep the peace after zombies overcome the barrier preventing them from entering the city.

David Kenin and Steve Brenner are exec producers, while Chris Provost and Dave Hales are co-EPs.



http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1