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Airdate: Falling Skies

Steven Spielberg’s new science fiction drama will begin with a two-hour premiere in July.

Falling Skies, Steven Spielberg’s new science fiction drama, will launch with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, July 7 at 8.30pm on FOX8.

The 10-part series starring Noah Wyle begins in the US this weekend.

Robi Stanton, Executive Director Sales and Networks, Turner International Australia, said: “As leading content providers for the Australian market, we are very excited that Foxtel viewers will be one of the first to view Stephen Spielberg’s outstanding new series.”

Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.

At the centre of the series is Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), a Boston history professor whose family has been torn apart. His wife was killed in the initial attack, and one of his three sons has been captured. Determined to get his son back and to ensure the safety of his other two sons, Tom must put his extensive knowledge of military history to the test as one of the leaders of the resistance movement. They are constantly trying to gain intelligence about the aliens in order to one day outsmart and overtake them and hopefully rebuild their lives.

Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) co-stars as Anne Glass, a paediatrician who works with the surviving children to help them cope with the traumatic upheaval in their lives. Will Patton (Armageddon, Into the West) plays a fierce leader of the resistance, Weaver. The series also stars Drew Roy (Secretariat) as Hal, Tom’s oldest son and a growing fighter in the resistance movement; Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom’s youngest son; Connor Jessup (The Saddle Club) as Ben, Tom’s son who was captured by aliens; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned teenager who helps Anne in the group’s makeshift medical clinic. Colin Cunningham (Living in Your Car) is John Pope, the leader of an outlaw motorcycle gang and Sarah Carter (Shark) is Margaret, a wary survivor of Pope’s gang.

Falling Skies focuses on the resilience of the survivors and their determination to maintain their humanity when all else has been destroyed. It is a tale of endurance, commitment and courage in which everyday people are called upon to become heroes. They may be outmatched, outnumbered and outgunned, but nothing can beat the human spirit. Most of all, the series is about the ties that bind people together in the most difficult of circumstances.

Falling Skies is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Graham Yost (Justified, The Pacific) and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica) and Greg Beeman (Heroes, Smallville) are co-executive producers.

8 Responses

  1. @Phoenix – but being on cable they are likely to leave us with some conclusion after 10 eps, not as open ended as The Event or FlashForward who were both clearly setting up for the next season.

    Yes I hope it’s around for a few season (going by the promos) with Spielberg’s name on the project and being on cable it stands more of a chance than some of the recent Network TV production. Not that it helped StarGate Universe on SyFy, which I think did have a nice conclusion at the end of 2 seasons.

  2. Mitch, this show has been in the works for 18+ months, and without checking I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been announced before The Walking Dead.

  3. @ Craig — From everything I’ve read, these 10 episodes will be the first season of Falling Skies with, presumably, more seasons to come if the show is successful. If the show fails, the series could be cancelled like The Event and FlashForward, which might mean there will be no satisfactory conclusion.

    I’m really hoping Falling Skies will be around for several seasons, as it has an ambitious storyline, interesting characters and an alien-infested post-apocalyptic world. Sure beats CSI!

  4. Don’t know if it’s like ‘The Walking Dead’ but it should be good with Steven Spielberg behind the project, also it’s on cable (TNT) so you know it won’t be canceled before the season is out and being on Fox8 here the same will apply. Also having just 10 eps it should provide a tight story with some conclusion. Unlike the recent failed Network TV series, FlashForward and The Event, which I did like at the time.

    FYI Noah Wyle was on Conan the other night, you can check out the interview at
    teamcoco.com/content/noah-wylie-talks-clooney-court

  5. Well, I’m pleased no Free to Air network here picked up this series.

    Given the past track records of similar themed programmes, Falling Skies would have started out at 8.30 Sunday nights, then moved to the “special time” of 9.30pm by ep 3, then relegated to the “new timeslot” of 10.30pm by ep 5.

    The following week it would have disappeared from the schedule, then resurface unannounced at 11pm Thursdays (just for one week, mind you) before disappearing into the Programmers Graveyard awaiting a throw-away slot on one of the digital channels.

    Of course, by then, Dreamworks TV would have passed on another batch of 10 eps.

    Sound familiar?

  6. I saw the ads for this (July 7) over a week ago, didn’t realize it was so close until I found out it starts in the US this Sunday. I guess 2 weeks is not that long to wait but it mean it will premier here about the same time as the new Torchwood series, which will be truly fast tracked only 1 day after the US on UKTV.

    Lots of SciFi to look forward to over the coming months!

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