Michael Lesslie will lead Peacock’s upcoming “Battlestar Galactica” reboot.
Lesslie, who served as showrunner for AMC’s “The Little Drummer Girl,” as well as a writer on films “Macbeth” and “Assassin’s Creed,” will be the show’s creator, lead writer and executive producer. “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail is also executive producing the series for UCP.
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, launched for Comcast subscribers last month and will roll out nationwide in July.
“I am beyond excited to be taking on this iconic and inspirational show. As a lifelong devotee, I know that the possibilities of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ world are infinite and that each iteration has raised the bar for epic and intelligent sci-fi storytelling,” said Lesslie. “The teams at Esmail Corp, UCP and Peacock are second to none, and I already know that we are going to honour Glen A. Larson and Ronald D. Moore’s landmark series and break new boundaries with our own vision. It’s a dream come true – one I just can’t wait to share with fans, new and old alike. So say we all!”
The “Battlestar Galactica” franchise originated in 1978 with the short-lived original series created by Glen A. Larson. It centered on a crew of survivors traveling space on a ship, Galactica, in the aftermath of humanity’s near-extinction in a war with a race of robots called Cylons.
A 2004 reboot of the series, developed by “Star Trek” alum Ronald D. Moore, ran for four seasons on Syfy (then known as Sci Fi), debuting to widespread critical acclaim and going on to achieve cult status. Cast members included Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park.
The franchise has lived on with a number of other ancillary series and movies in the years since, including the one-and-done prequel series “Caprica” in 2010 and the web series-turned-film “Blood & Chrome” in 2013.