EXCLUSIVE: There is a new writer at the helm of Peacock‘s long-gestating reboot of the popular sci-fi franchise Battlestar Galactica. The Sinner creator Derek Simonds has come on board as writer, executive producer and showrunner.
Battlestar Galactica, which remains in development at Peacock, has been a passion project for Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail — a big fan of the original — whose company Esmail Corp. is producing the reboot through UCP where the company is based.
First announced as being in development at NBCUniversal’s streamer Peacock in 2019, the Battlestar Galactica reimagening previously had Michael Lesslie attached to write and executive produce.
A new take on the classic IP, the latest incarnation is executive produced by Simonds as well as Esmail Corp’s Sam Esmail and Chad Hamilton. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
The original Battlestar Galactica centered on the last group of humans on the verge of extinction after a series of wars with a robot race, The Cylons, destroyed the Twelve Colonies. All the humans are left in one remaining battleship group, anchored by the Galactica, as they search for their last option for survival: a fabled Thirteenth Colony known as Earth.
The original Glen A. Larson-created series, produced by Universal and starring Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Lorne Greene as Commander Adama, ran on ABC for one season in 1978-1979. It was followed by a short-lived sequel and several book and comics series, a board game and a video game as it gained cult status, if not commercial success.
UCP (then known as Universal Cable Productions) produced Ron Moore’s critically and commercially susessful 2003 revamp, which started as a miniseries before becoming a series, starring Edward James Olmos in Greene’s commander role, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackoff and Grace Park, which ran for four seasons and spawned a short-lived prequel, Caprica.
Simonds is the creator and executive producer of USA Network/UCP’s popular crime anthology series, which ran for three seasons. He is repped by WME and Zaftig Films.
Esmail also co-created and executive produced the UCP series Homecoming for Prime Video and most recently directed and produced the hit Netflix movie Leave The World Behind, reuniting with Homecoming star Julia Roberts. He is repped by CAA and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.