SCI FI Channel Orders New Scripted Drama

NEW YORK, February 1: SCI FI Channel has given a full-season
order for the new original scripted-drama series Sanctuary, which will make its debut as the first series to
use live-action actors against mostly virtual sets.

The show began on the Internet and was the world’s first
high-definition sci-fi web series. In its move to television as a one-hour
drama, Amanda Tapping (Stargate's Lt.
Col. Samantha Carter) has been tapped to star as Dr. Helen Magnus, who, along
with her young protégé, Will Zimmerman, played by Robin Dunne (Dawson's
Creek, Species 3), is protecting all manner
of strange creatures that walk the earth. The show’s sets are 90-percent CGI.

Sanctuary creator,
Damian Kindler (Stargate SG-1)
and producer/director Martin Wood (Stargate Atlantis) are the executive producers, serving alongside
Tapping and Sam Egan (Jeremiah, The Outer Limits, Masters of Science
Fiction). In addition to her producing and
starring turns on Sanctuary,
Tapping will also make guest appearances on several episodes of SCI FI
Channel's Stargate Atlantis
during its fifth season. Sanctuary
will be produced by Stage 3 Media in association with the SCI FI Channel.
Tricon Films and Television are worldwide distributors of the series.

"Sanctuary
promises to be a totally fresh television viewing experience," said Mark
Stern, the channel’s executive VP of original programming. "This stylistic
approach to 'virtual sets' has proven hugely popular on the big screen, and we
have been looking for a chance to use it on a television series. We've worked
with Damian, Martin, Amanda and Sam on numerous projects in the past, and think
they are the perfect team to tackle something this ambitious."

—By Kristin Brzoznowski