‘Very freaky’ stuff promised in Martin adaptation

There are no dragons or despots, but danger still lurks in the latest TV series based on George R.R. Martin’s work.

Nightflyers, a 10-episode series based on the Game of Thrones author’s 1980 novella, arrives this fall on Syfy (Space in Canada).

The series is a sci-fi/horror project that leans into the “very freaky” stuff, says executive producer/writer Jeff Buhler, who likens the project to “either Alien with a ghost or The Shining in space.”

Set 75 years into the future, a group of scientists embarks on a mission aboard the starship Nightflyer to make first contact with an alien race that has been discovered in the farthest reaches of our solar system.

But the scares don’t come from the extra-terrestrials, Buhler promises.

“In a lot of science-fiction, it’s always aliens that are coming to take our resources or our water or our energy. In this case, it’s really the journey and what takes place on the ship that drives the horror, and the dynamics between all these characters.”

The leader of the expedition, astrophysicist Karl D’Branin (Eoin Bracken) discovered the object that led to the discovery of the alien race.

The reclusive Roy Eris (David Ajala) captains the ship, but communicates only through technical interfaces. And Thale (Sam Strike) is an L-1 telepath whom D’Branin thinks might be the best and only chance of communicating with the aliens.

Dr. Agatha Matheson (Gretchen Mol) is the psychiatrist along for the ride to keep Thale in the right frame of mind around distrusting and resentful crew members. In this world, regular folks are so afraid of the psychic power that L-1s possess that they’re deemed a menace to society and grow up in internment camps built below mountains.

“They’ve been disenfranchised, they’ve been oppressed, there’s a lot of prejudice against them as a group,” Buhler says. “And there’s a lot of interesting dynamics that creates when you bring someone on board a ship that’s confined and you’re on a long journey isolated in deep space.”

While Nightflyers is no Game of Thrones, Buhler says the new show does tap into “those pieces of story DNA” that are hallmarks of Martin’s work, including grounded, flawed and sympathetic characters thrown into a fantastical landscape, as well as an air of unpredictability about beloved characters.

“We’re not afraid to lose people when it works for the story,” Buhler says. “Especially in horror, it’s nice to know that anyone can go at any time.”