Networks Hoping to Scare Up New 'X-Files'
Thu Feb 3, 4:47 AM ET
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By Cynthia Littleton
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The hunt is on for primetime's next big fantasy/sci-fi franchise.
Reality-bending concepts dot the drama development slate this year as networks search for a worthy successor to "The X-Files," which wrapped its nine-season run on Fox in May 2002. The success ABC has had with its spooky thriller "Lost" has helped whet the appetite among network buyers for genre-based shows, insiders say.
"I think people are trying to develop what is not currently on the air," said Dana Walden, president of 20th Century Fox TV, the studio behind such fantasy favorites as "X-Files" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." "There isn't a lot of science fiction on TV right now, and people are trying to capitalize on that."
The News Corp.-owned studio is attempting to do just that with "Briar & Graves," a project for its Fox corporate sibling, in which a priest and a female doctor investigate unexplained spiritual phenomena.
ABC has its share of weirdness with its revival of the 1970s cult favorite "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," which has generated strong buzz, and an untitled project from executive producer Shaun Cassidy (news) revolving around the strange things that happen in a small Florida town after a hurricane.
CBS' "Threshold" has scientists and military types trying to make contact with a mysterious alien life-form, while the network's untitled John Gray project is inspired by the work of psychic James Van Praagh and the contacts he claims to make with those who already have done the mortal-coil shuffle.
NBC's "Fathom" aims to pick up the torch from James Cameron's 1989 feature "The Abyss" in exploring the mysterious creatures of the deep sea.
The WB, which has a solid fantasy series in "Smallville," is hoping to concoct a "Smallville" companion piece with "Supernatural," about two brothers who travel the country tracking down beings that aren't exactly Homo sapiens.
"I think shows that are blatantly science fiction or fantasy or horror-oriented have a harder time making it on network TV because there's only so many (viewers) willing to give that kind of show a chance," said Frank Spotnitz, the "X-Files" alumnus who is executive producing "Night Stalker." "'The X-Files' was really a police procedural -- they just happened to be investigating paranormal occurrences."
But where there's a void, there's a pilot concept. Spotnitz said his goal with "Night Stalker" is similar to what motivated Chris Carter to create "X-Files" more than a decade ago.
"I am looking to make a scary show," Spotnitz said.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
