NBCUniversal commissions virtual reality short-form series for Syfy


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| 13 February 2016




The international division of US pay-TV giant NBCUniversal International Networks has commissioned Halcyon, a new short-form scripted series, for its Syfy global science fiction and entertainment channel.



RTVN 13 Feb 2016 SyfyProduced by Secret Location, Halcyon is a police procedural series set in 2058 and focuses on a future world where virtual reality is as ubiquitous as smartphones are today. Its 15 episodes will alternate between 10 episodes available to view on Syfy linear channels around the world, along with their accompanying Syfy websites, and five VR episodes to be distributed through the proprietary VR platform Oculus Rift.

For an enriched experience, viewers can watch both the linear and virtual reality episodes; and for viewers who are only watching linear episodes, short recaps of each of the five VR episodes will ensure that all viewers are able to follow the complete storyline. Additional premium and mobile platforms will be announced.

“Syfy is the perfect home for launching this innovative, hybrid linear and virtual reality series,” commented Steve Patscheck, EVP global programming, NBCU International Networks. “We look forward to partnering with Secret Location on Halcyon, as Syfy international channels break new ground with the launch of the brand’s first scripted virtual reality series.”

Added Secret Location president James Milward: “Syfy has consistently broken new ground with its television series and we’re excited to work with them on this new multiplatform project…VR is being exposed to more and more people and with projects like Halcyon; we intend to help this immersive form of entertainment grow.”

Filming of Halcyon — produced with the financial participation of the Independent Production Fund, a Canadian private foundation that makes equity investments in original digital drama series — has already begun in Toronto.