In 2093, a team of scientists embarks on a journey into space aboard an advanced ship called the Nightflyer to make first contact with alien life-forms. However, when terrifying and violent events occur, the team begins to question each other and to realize there is something on-board the Nightflyer with them. It's up to the crew to save the ship and themselves.
Cast
Main
Eoin Macken as Karl d’Branin, an astrophysicist and leader of the Nightflyer expedition
David Ajala as Roy Eris, the reclusive captain of the Nightflyer
In 2016, it was announced that Syfy would be developing a series based on Martin's novella. Later in 2017, it was announced that the series would rather be based on the film adaptation from 1987. George R. R. Martin will not be involved directly with the series due to his exclusive contract with HBO, but will be credited as an executive producer.
Filming
The series started its production in early 2018 on location in Limerick, Ireland, and also at the Limerick-based Troy Studios, with Daniel Cerone serving as the showrunner. Cerone also serves as a series executive producer, alongside Gene Klein, David Bartis, and Doug Liman of Hypnotic, Alison Rosenzweig and Michael Gaeta of Gaeta Rosenzweig Films, and Lloyd Ivan Miller and Alice P. Neuhauser of Lloyd Ivan Miller Productions. For the visual effects, Spin VFX is the main vendor with Territory Studio supplying user interfaces, and Switch Visual Effects providing additional support. The visual effects have to work seamlessly with the huge practical set built for the ship.
Episodes
Release
joined the series as a co-producer, and holds international airing rights in addition to secondary airing rights in the United States. Nightflyers premiered on Syfy on December 2, 2018. The first season consisted of ten episodes. The first season became available to stream on Netflix worldwide on February 1, 2019. On February 19, 2019, it was reported that Syfy had canceled the series.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 33% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 5.41/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Unsettling without being particularly scary, Nightflyers's low-budget aesthetics and over-reliance on homage betray its intriguing philosophical pondering and impressive creative pedigree." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 47 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club was disappointed that the show doesn't do more to upend genre conventions the way Game of Thrones successfully did, writing, "showrunner Jeff Buhler doesn’t quite know how to make it feel new again." McLevy praised the show for its "appealing visual style" despite budgetary limitations, and of the acting cast he singled out Maya Eshet, "who elevates every scene in which she appears". He compared the show to the film Event Horizon and called the show engaging but lacking depth, suggesting the show may appeal more to those who already enjoy the sci-fi horror genre.
