George R. R. Martin recently posted a big, big update on the production of his next big TV series: Wild Cards! The show now has a production company, a show runner, and a rough timeline, but most interestingly of all, George R. R. Martin is soliciting suggestions for which characters YOU, the readers, would like to see first in the show!
For those unfamiliar with Wild Cards, here’s the pitch:
The shared world of the Wild Cards diverged from our own on September 15, 1946 when an alien virus was released in the skies over Manhattan, and spread across an unsuspecting Earth. Of those infected, 90% died horribly, drawing the black queen, 9% were twisted and deformed into jokers, while a lucky 1% became blessed with extraordinary and unpredictable powers and became aces. The world was never the same.
Begun in 1986, the Wild Cards world unfolds in numbered anthologies, all of them featuring short stories by notable sci-fi/fantasy authors. The latest volume, #23, High Stakes, comes out at the end of this month on August 30th.
The shared world is guided by GRRM and Melinda Snodgrass, who will be the show runner on the forthcoming TV series and whose TV credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation (Trek fans will recognize this episode of hers), Reasonable Doubts, and The Profiler. Snodgrass will be joined on Wild Cards by Gregory Noveck of Syfy Films.
While the NBC-owned Syfy channel has made no announcement of a pilot or series pick-up for Wild Cards, it appears that NBC is already making some significant investment into the series by attaching Universal Cable Productions (also owned by NBC) as the production company. From GRRM:
Their programming can be seen across numerous networks and channels across the world, and includes the Golden Globe and Peabody award-winning drama Mr. Robot, new SF series Colony […] Lev Grossman’s brilliant The Magicians, 12 Monkeys, and Killjoys on Syfy. […] UCP’s content library includes such fan favorites such as the Emmy-award winning Monk, Psych, and Battlestar Galactica.
It’s rare to receive news of an anticipated show beginning pre-production, so GRRM and UCP are using this opportunity to ask Wild Cards fans and readers which characters and stories should be featured front and center in the TV show. The anthology format of the series has created a vast world with dozens, possibly hundreds, of unique characters. George R. R. Martin knows who he wants to see:
Only one thing I can say for (almost) sure. You will be seeing Croyd Crenson, no matter shape the eventual show or shows ends up taking. It wouldn’t be Wild Cards without the Sleeper.
But what about you? Comment over at GRRM’s Livejournal with your suggestions and arguments!
