In its continued commitment to producing more science fiction television, Syfy recently announced that it has approved a second season of its time traveling drama, 12 Monkeys.
The series, which is a retelling of the Terry Gilliam film of the same name, has been a breakout hit for the network, with its first season reaching nearly 15 million viewers to date. The series most recent episode scored 1.5 million total viewers alone.
"We are absolutely committed to 12 Monkeys, and have been incredibly impressed by the outstanding critical and audience praise the series has earned," says Dave Howe, Syfy President. "The talent both on and off-screen have delivered a series that has us all on the edge of our seats, providing exactly the smart, exciting storytelling Syfy is known for."
Although many were skeptical about rebooting the story from a film that starred both Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, the series has received good marks from both critics and fans alike.
A short film called La Jetée inspired Gilliam's 1995 film, which inspired the TV series. The series, now halfway through its first season, tells the story of Cole, a man tasked with traveling back in time to stop a deadly plague from wiping out most of humanity.
12 Monkeys stars Aaron Stanford (Nikita, X-Men: The Last Stand, X2), Amanda Schull (Suits, Center Stage) and Kirk Acevedo (Fringe, Oz,Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). The show's executive producers are Richard Suckle (Suicide Squad, American Hustle, The International) and Charles Roven (Suicide Squad, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, American Hustle). Roven also served as producer on the Gilliam film.
"It was basically the same plotline but it was a very different execution," says Stanford, the actor portraying Cole. "It was a small bite-sized chunk and then 12 Monkeys took that and they expanded it and made it their own. And now what we've done is the same thing. You know 12 Monkeys is the inspiration and it's the source material, and we took that and we turned it into something different and much more expansive."
Of course, we won't see the second season of 12 Monkeys until 2016, but in the meantime, check out this preview of tonight's episode.
[Photo Credit: Syfy]
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