Syfy is looking for a Walking Dead of its own.
The cable network announced Thursday that it has given a straight-to-series order to Ron Moore's drama Helix.
The 13-episode series, which bypassed the pilot stage, is described as a thriller about a team of scientists from the Center for Disease Control who travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak. There, they find themselves in a terrifying life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind's salvation or total annihilation.
Moore (Battlestar Galactica) will executive produce the drama alongside Lynda Obst (Contact), Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files) and Cameron Porsandeh, who penned the pilot of the Sony Pictures Television entry.
“With its well-drawn characters, taut drama, and incredible production team, we couldn’t be more excited to see this intense thrill-ride of a series come to life,” said Mark Stern, Syfy president of original content and co-head of original content at cable arm Universal Cable Productions.
Casting and production will begin soon for a debut later this year.
The series comes two months after Syfy axed David Strathairn drama Alphas after two seasons. The network also is developing a scripted drama from M. Night Shyamalan (Proof) and Bryan Fuller (High Noon) as it looks to bulk up its scripted offerings, which include Being Human, Continuum and Lost Girl. Syfy will roll out Defiance in April.
For its part, AMC's ratings juggernaut The Walking Dead centers on a zombie-filled world post-apocalypse.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
