Dark Matter is a Canadian science fiction series created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, based on their comic book of the same name and developed by Prodigy Pictures in association with Space channel. An order for 13 episodes was placed for the first season of the series, which premiered on June 12, 2015 on both Space and Syfy. On September 5, 2015, the series was renewed for a second season. Dark Matter was renewed for a 13-episode third season in September 2016, which premiered on June 9, 2017. On September 1, 2017, Syfy canceled the series after three seasons, leaving an unresolved cliffhanger.
Plot
A group of six people awaken in stasis pods with amnesia aboard the starshipRaza. They have no memories of who they are or their lives before awakening, so they assume the names One through Six, the order in which they left stasis. They stabilize their vessel and set about trying to uncover their identities and what happened to them.
Natalie Brown as Sarah, Marcus Boone's lover Though she dies of an incurable illness in season 1, in season 3 the Android finds her consciousness had been digitally uploaded into the Razas server.
Ennis Esmer as Wexler, a manic psychopath and the leader of a mercenary group hired by Delaney Truffault to work with the Raza crew. Although Wexler is killed during season 1, an alternate reality version of him returns in seasons 2 and 3. This version is significantly less brutal and ultimately sides with the crew.
Mike Dopud as Arax Nero, the leader of a prison gang
Ruby Rose as Wendy, an entertainment model android
Rachael Ancheril as Della
Dan Jeannotte as the clone created when One uses a DNA transporter to follow Four to a different part of the galaxy. He has the original face of Derrick Moss, before he had it altered to that of Jace Corso.
Jessica Sipos as Tash, a member of Wexler's mercenary group. Although Tash is killed during season 1, an alternate reality version of her returns in seasons 2 and 3.
Jon Cor as Vons, a member of Wexler's mercenary group
Conrad Pla as Cain, a member of Wexler's mercenary group
Kerr Hewitt as Sgt. Voss, a Ferrous Corp soldier who serves aboard the FCS Deliverance
Inga Cadranel as Alicia Reynaud, a businesswoman who wants what Emily Kolburn stole
Production
Principal photography for the first season began in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 9, 2015, and concluded May 20, 2015. On September 1, 2015, Syfy renewed Dark Matter for a second season. Chris Regina, Syfy’s senior VP of program strategy, said that "With its mysterious premise and fascinating characters, Dark Matter has built an incredibly loyal, passionate and engaged fan base. We look forward to another out-of-this-world season from this talented creative team." Production on the second season began on December 9, 2015, and concluded May 6, 2016. The third season began production on November 18, 2016. The reason for the cancellation was never fully explained, although Mallozzi stated it was never liked by SyFy's Los Angeles branch, even after outperforming several of their other series. The series was not a SyFy original, so they had little financial incentive to keep it going.
Broadcast
Dark Matter premiered on Syfy in the United States on the same day as Canada. Within the following week, the series premiered on Syfy Australia and Syfy UK – on June 13 and 16, 2015, respectively.
Reception
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave season 1 an approval rating of 72%, with an average rating of 5.18/10 based on reviews from 18 critics. Metacritic gave the series an average score of 58 out of 100, based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes season 2 received a 100% rating based on 7 reviews, and season 3 received a 100% rating based on 7 reviews.
Ratings
The series premiere pulled 273,000 overnight viewers on the Space channel in Canada, and 1.28 million viewers for its premiere on the Syfy channel in the U.S.
