Sci Fi is developing a TV reboot of "Alien Nation," adapting the 1988 feature that previously spawned a one-season spinoff TV series on Fox:
The new show will be written by Tim "The X-Files" Minear. Fox 21, a production arm of 20th Century Fox TV will produce.
Premise of the original feature followed an unlikely partnership between a street cop and his 'alien' detective partner, set against the larger tale of alien 'newcomers' who move to Earth.
"It's absolute perfect timing for this type of show," said Fox 21's Chris Carlisle.
"At the heart of 'Alien Nation,' it's a cop movie. It's grounded. And it has a tremendous amount of dramatic possibilities and humor."
"It's very much in keeping with what we've been looking to do," said Sci Fi original programming exec VP Mark Stern.
"...find themes that are more than just hard sci-fi, something that feels contemporary and relevant and invites a broad audience in."
Because the show will most likely be shot in Vancouver, similar to Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica", the new "Alien Nation" will be set in the Pacific Northwest, 20 years after the first ship of aliens, crash lands onto Earth. By 2020, the alien poulation on Earth will have multiplied to 3.5 million.
The original feature, directed by Graham Baker starred actor Mandy Patinkin as alien cop 'Sam Francisco' and James Caan as his reluctant human partner...
