Tuesday 25 May 2010

Syfy: Caprica not officially cancelled, just not getting picked up any time soon

Caprica hasn't been officially cancelled, but it won't be renewed any time soon either. At least not before the actors' contracts expire this summer.

This is what Ron Moore told Sci Fi Wire about the show's renewal prospects at the upfronts in March:

When must the decision be reached?

"I think ultimately it comes down to when the actors' contracts come due," Moore replied. "That's the real trigger, and I don't think those are due until August. However, I think that the other factor is [the network's] schedule and when they'd want the show to be on the air. So they would probably pull the trigger before that in order to start production in time to get the show on the air for their schedule."

And this is what Craig Engler (senior vice president of Syfy Digital and Syfy's resident PR guy on Twitter) tweeted earlier today:




The second half of season 1 won't air until the fall so, from the looks of it, we won't be getting any news at all about season 2 -- which, yeah, likely won't happen at all if the math is anything to go by -- until then. Except maybe an empty PR tidbit like this one here and there.

35 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeah, what are people thinking - season ONE isn't over (no show gets renewed mid way into their season unless it's a super-mega-hit), although you can blame SyFy for these weird splits in series. It's still confusing many.

Richard said...

Shows do get renewed before the contracts expire, yes. Unless of course the network is hellbent on screwing the actors out of their money. I bet that's the case here.

fanshawe said...

^ I saw several people suggest the same at io9.

You'd think all the good will and confidence in the show Syfy has expressed would include the idea of actually paying the actors to stay onboard for season two.

Either way, I hope that's not the case, but can't really imagine why else Syfy would be dragging this thing out for so long if they're really as firmly behind the show as they say they are.

Richard said...

PSA: Syfy's word means frak.

Does this really need stating?

Dawn said...

Hi there. I found your blog thru After Elton and can't believe what I'm reading!

This is a GREAT SHOW. I don't know why it's taking them so long to bring it back or renew it for 50 more seasons, but they better do it frackin' soon or I'm canceling SyFy on my TV! They don't really have anything else worth watching anyway.

fanshawe said...

Richard,

I don't know on which side of the fence you belong (fan, actor, exec), but I don't feel it's my job as a fan to try to decipher what execs really mean when they say the things they say. I don't mind taking their word for it, whether it's for form's sake or because what they're saying makes sense.

What irked me here is that they apparently can't even be bothered to get their statements in tune anymore and, instead of thinking about, oh I don't know, season 1.5 spoilers, I get to think about how much of what I hear is true and how much is bullshit and manipulation.

That, coupled with the fact that the only thing Engler has taken any serious time to do in the last two months is post articles at Boing Boing that say that if a cable show gets cancelled, it's because fans - people who pay to watch their frakking network - haven't done enough PR for it, and I think we've hit the limit on good will. And on several other things too.

Geordi said...

Corporate greed is all it is. Blame the fans, blame the actors, blame the weather in China. It's what executives do while counting cash from subscribers and advertisers. Just another day at the office.

Anonymous said...

Well you have to look at alot of things befor they will just resign cast members. What if there looking to kill people off or cut there time in the show. This is where it will depend on the writers to finnish up season one and start work on season two. That will tell syfy who they need to sign who will get cut and also will tell them what people should get paid, they just dont sign members for a season. Alot of times they sign cast members to 3 or 4 of the shows for a season and pay them x amount rather then floating out a huge bill for a full season and they end up being in 2 because they were removed from teh story arch in show 2.

Anonymous said...

Why are all the good shows in general getting canceled? Enough with "reality TV!" No one cares about Gosslin and her 8 spawns, surviving on an island with strangers, living in house together living with strangers, fat people, people with addictions, etc. I'd rather see this in drama shows not in reality. Who cares about other people's problems being broadcast throughout the world! Not me!

Da5id said...

I just can't believe how network executives are living in the last century. A while Caprica is my favorite television show, if I can get more than eight consecutive episodes I move on. I download high-definition movies and TV season packs. I mean I'm not stupid, I have DirecTV and their DVR and season passes to my favorite shows so that I show up as a viewer, but that is about as much loyalty as I think the network deserves. HBO got to be HBO by hanging in on shows like The Wire. I doubt they lost money on it. Quality shows eventually win out. I'll buy Blu-Ray discs of Caprica and re-watched the entire series like I will with BSG. Does SyFy expect to bet the bank on Ghostbusters? and all of this Web 2 nonsense -- I do not want to see the actors out of character.

Anonymous said...

BG was one of SyFy's few interesting, entertaining, original dramas. Understandably, it had to come to a close. They have nothing besides Caprica even remotely close to filling in the void. i loved the idea of a prequel. There is nothing else on SyFy that makes me want to tune in. Why would they screw around over one of the few decent series' in their history?

Anonymous said...

I've just about given up on Syfy as a channel. Most of its programming is third rate, made-for-TV garbage.
And then there was BSG.
And wither Caprica?
It has potential but how is it supposed to get any momentum? A few shows...hiatus...a few more. It's like the programming department took its lead from water torture: drip..drip..drip.
Give us shows. Give us something to actually talk about. And then you'll have ratings and a fan base.

Anonymous said...

Eric Stoltz is the main one worth keeping. He and Alessandra Torresani are dynamite. The Adama crowd are boring thugs...they would not be missed.

Cutting the series free of Battlestar Galactica would be a good thing. The Graystone family is where the interesting dynamics are and the best actors.

I watch at HULU and would not dream of paying for SyFy since it is no longer SciFi. Caprica is all that SyFy has before it becomes the wrestling channel.

Anonymous said...

i am so disappointed about the whole "SYFY" thing. sure a couple good shows but bring back caprica!!! this used to be my fav channel now its peeewwww. and 2 whoeve wrote "b4 it turns into the wrestling channel..." i love u

Anonymous said...

This show lost me the moment the girl's consciousness was magically "lost" inside the robot. They can travel between stars, but they haven't invented the ability to copy or backup software?

I really wish they'd cancel this turd of a show, so Moore could start work on a good complement to the BSG universe. The last thing the scifi world needs is more whiny religious emo girls.

Anonymous said...

I think it's an awesome show with an awesome premise. Eric Stoltz is perfectly cast. I was really looking to see how they made the jump from robot Cylons to human Cylons and the intricacies of all that. If Syfy cancels this show, it is a huge lapse of judgment. There are some gaps, but overall, the show is very good.

Anonymous said...

this is why I don't watch stuff till it's completed. These execs don't care about the art or the story, they're little people driven by money, like rats to cheese. I say this cause they don't even have the consideration of telling people what's going on with the show. Focusing in SGU instead? Not too bad of a show, but I'm not keeping the cable package i have because of scify anymore. I guess I'm following suit by trying to save money by cancelling. Bastards! Now I'm one of them.Thanks for creating a Lose Lose situation guys.

Anonymous said...

A loss - one of SciFi's most interesting shows - guess the new name SyFy means more than a name change - maybe a loss of vision.

Anonymous said...

"This show lost me the moment the girl's consciousness was magically "lost" inside the robot. They can travel between stars, but they haven't invented the ability to copy or backup software?"

I have to agree, maybe it's the tech inside. The very first thing that came to mind when he started going ballistic over the data loss. No backup?

And the guy is supposed to be a genius?

Neal said...

Season 2 of Caprica began airing in the US on SyFy on the 5th of October.

fanshawe said...

^ That's season 1.5. The back nine episodes of season one.

The show hasn't been picked up for a second season yet.

Anonymous said...

Guys - this is SyFy's normal pattern when they are going to ditch. Look at what they did with Farscape. Look at how they treated JMS with the Legend of the Rangers.
They are never up-front with anyone - it's all cloak and dagger, telling people BS while they know right from the start the show is getting canned...
... and for all you guys out there like Ronald D. Moore - do not EVER go to Syfy to get your shows on air. They will BS you about how they love it - then they'll mess with the schedule so nobody knows when the next one airs, then they'll start to complain that nobody watches it ... deja vu!

Joebeone99 said...

Everybody is right about the "SyFy" channel. I really enjoyed Caprica, but whether it's season 1 or 1.5 or I think that They're leaning in the wrong direction. I guess you can call WWE fiction but not Science fiction. I keep thinking about other series they buried like Dresden. All the Stargates are getting stale. At least Caprica was putting a little more drama and less Reality. Also the move to Tuesdays was really bad. I really felt that this would hurt this show. Just like having Dresden series on Sundays. I have to hand it to the management, they really know how to frak things up. Maybe they want to kill the whole channel.

Joebeone99 said...

Everybody is right about the "SyFy" channel. I really enjoyed Caprica, but whether it's season 1 or 1.5 or I think that They're leaning in the wrong direction. I guess you can call WWE fiction but not Science fiction. I keep thinking about other series they buried like Dresden. All the Stargates are getting stale. At least Caprica was putting a little more drama and less Reality. Also the move to Tuesdays was really bad. I really felt that this would hurt this show. Just like having Dresden series on Sundays. I have to hand it to the management, they really know how to frak things up. Maybe they want to kill the whole channel.

Anonymous said...

First SG1, then Firefly, now Caprica, someone really needs to fire the execs from this network, they are not entertaining people as they should be, sounds like a bunch of corporate BS.

Anonymous said...

I agree with what I have been reading about caprica so far good t.v. is dead and has been for years I say out with reallity t.v and get back into actual worthwhile t.v. and to thoes with the idea of canceling syfy on your .t.v I don't blame you one bit I mean what does the network think it's doing anwaqy (KEEP THE SHOW ON THE AIR!!!).

Anonymous said...

No Caprica. No SYFY. I get tired of spending my precious time watching a show that I enjoy then it's cancelled.

Corinna said...

WE can save Caprica, in a sense. How about establishing a FAN FICTION group at yahoogroups in which different people can submit their versions of how the story would turn out? Anyone intersted is welocome to contact me cmichal427@yahoo.com Another idea would be to petition the powers--that--be to create a 2 hour windup MOVIE special like the Dynasty soap opera writers did when the show was cancelled with the main character in a coma--but then they ran the 2 hour windup movie later. Stop whining, start writing for both these ends!!!

Resinator said...

I'm an old school science fiction fan and writer. Scifi was my favorite channel until tards (who probably never watched it before taking it over) turned it into the Syfy rassling channel (and what the H does WWE have to do with science fiction?). Fourteen year old cuties aren't going to keep your lights on. Apparently they are also your movie screen writers. The only show worth watching on Syfy is the occasional accidental Twilight Zone blip, but "eeewww it's not color". Caprica was a glimmer of hope, but the same dolts are seemingly in charge of the History channel. "Let's make another show for alcoholic dropouts." Fox News is the only reason to have a TV anymore.

Anonymous said...

No more Caprica and SG-U? What's the point? "Siffy" channel seems to wish to be the cheaply cranked out Dragons & Swords and giant alligators and Wrastlin' channel. My plan going forward is to boycott Siffy. I won't watch any of their programming until these decisions are reversed. I can live without the fluff pieces of Eureka. Advertisers are you paying attention? Siffy has gone down a rat hole. Let us hope a real Science Fiction channel arises someday, dealing with subjects like SPACE, TIME TRAVEL, THE FUTURE. Dragons? Swords? Warehouses? Giant Killer Bees? Ghost Plumbers? Rastlin'? Goodbye Siffy. The boycott begins NOW. On the bright side, I can devote more time to Playtation. Keep the Star Trek reruns coming, SPIKE TV.

REST IN PIECES, IDIOTS!

Anonymous said...

This whole thing sucks---can't find good science fiction BOOKs anymore and now no good sci fi series either!! I LOVED both Caprica and SG-U --I won't be watching SyFy (and who's bright idea was it to change the name of the channel anyway???) anymore!!!

Anonymous said...

Ppl I know are barely just discovering caprica. Even BSG fans. It wasn't really marketed well. Personally, I think it's one of the best TV show's Ive ever seen up there with Kings and breaking bad. :s

RAND said...

Moore's re-make was a piece of felgercarb, especially the neutering of Starbuck, and Crapica was even worse. Thank God Bryan Singer and Glen A Larson are bringing the real Battlestar Galactica back. BTW, its frack, not frak

House said...

Its tipical American money makers decision. They did not cash in enough so they will cancel one of the greatest shows in history of television. Its all started to happen since nbc bought syfy. Freaking jappies!!!

Anonymous said...

I liked it and disappointed they dropped it... half way through. I think that it hurt the ratings and show that they went over the top with the decant lifestyles. Even though I liked the show and plot I would not let my children watch it, just too much. Thats why and how decants hurt the show and ratings.