Game changer with sci-fi scares

George R.R. Martin turns to terrors in space for his latest TV project, ‘Nightflyers.’

Only a few days removed from this year’s Emmys, George R.R. Martin was feeling a bit tired.

It had been another big night for the “Game of Thrones” writer, whose intricate “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels continued their run of prestige TV dominance. Adapted by David Weiss and David Benioff into a powerful HBO series, “Game of Thrones” has earned the network a gaudy 47 awards over a run that this year included best drama series.

Martin is still involved with “Game of Thrones,” including plans for prequels for HBO and finishing the highly anticipated next installment of his book series (“Winds of Winter,” which has no release date). But he’s also moved on to his next big TV project born of his imagination, “Nightflyers.”

Premiering Sunday on Syfy with a new installment airing every night through Dec. 6 (the other five of its 10 episodes air the following week), “Nightflyers” is based on a novella Martin first published in 1980. It was adapted by showrunner Jeff Buhler, who also adapted new versions of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” and Adrian Lyne’s cult 1990 film “Jacob’s Ladder.”

On this day the series producers hosted Martin for a screening of the first episode at NBC’s Universal City offices. The following is an edited conversation with Martin and Buhler about how the novella came to TV, the merging of horror with sci-fi and that little HBO series that starts its final season in April.

Where: Syfy When: 10 p.m. Sunday-Dec. 6 Rated: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17)