Syfy has put in a series order on Thursday for its first miniseries since 2009, the space opera Ascension.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, who first reported on the show, Ascension is the first miniseries in nearly five years for the network. Their last miniseries was 2009's Alice.
Ascension is being called a mixture of Battlestar Galactica and Downton Abbey and was both created and written by Smallville's Philip Levens. He will also be the showrunner and executive producer.
The event series will follow a 100-year space shuttle journey that set off from Earth right at the beginning of the Cold War. They plan on colonizing a new world, but 50 years into the journey, a young woman is found murdered. Those on the ship search for the murderer and wonder about the mission as they near the point in the journey where they would no longer be able to turn back.
Should the six-hour series do well, there is the possibility of then moving forward with a TV series.
Ascension is in line with Syfy president Dave Howe's new plan of shifting towards what the network used to focus on before turning to B-movies and series aimed at broader appeal.
As previously reported, the network has had some turnover and new exec vp original programming Bill McGoldrick wanted to both green light a space opera and return to producing miniseries like Galactica, which did so well for the network.
image courtesy of Syfy