The SCI FI Channel is developing a new take on Alien Nation, the 1988 feature that previously spawned a spin-off series on Fox, reports Variety.
Tim Minear (“Angel,” “The X-Files,” “Firefly,” “Strange World”) is writing the update of the franchise. Fox 21, the alternative production arm of 20th Century Fox TV, will produce.
“Alien Nation” centers on the partnership between a veteran cop and his alien detective partner, set against the larger tale of alien “newcomers” who move to Earth and attempt to assimilate into society.
The new “Alien Nation” would include a mythology that evolves over time and will also touch on some of the issues of the day, such as the immigrant experience and how society integrates an incoming culture.
The show will likely take place in the Pacific Northwest, and will take place about 20 years after the first ship of aliens – who have been banished as slaves – crash lands into Earth.
By the time the show begins, some time in the 2020s, the alien population has multiplied from a few thousand to 3.5 million. And much of the “newcomers” live their own segregated existence, in what Minear compares to the North African ghettos in France.
SCI FI will be rebranded as “SyFy” next week.
