Hollywood megastar director Steven Spielberg is the production powerhouse behind the prehistoric sci-fi series, TERRA NOVA, so it’s been a big surprise hear that the show is suffering from an assortment of production-related issues.
Several members of the writing team were this week laid off and costs for the pilot- now apparently delayed until next Fall- are reportedly spiraling out of control.
Show runner Brandon Braga has yet to jump the struggling ship, which will star Jason O Mara and Stephen Lang as authoratitive figures from the 22nd Century, who are placed in charge of a mission to travel back in time to pre-history and save the human race from an extinction in the present. The Wrap has reported that the cost for the one hour pilot episode have reached $10 million, not including future advertising and marketing-related costs.
TERRA NOVA may follow in the steps of GLEE and have its pilot premiere on Fox in Spring 2011, then go on hiatus until the beginning of the Fall 2011 TV season. The pilot is tentatively scheduled to begin filming in Australia over the next few months and looks to meet that deadline, in spite of all the behind-the-scenes drama.
The premise behind TERRA NOVA has promise, though it does sound a bit familiar to the premises for a number of other sci-fi series. The FX and production values on TERRA NOVA should be quite good though– what with Spielberg being behind the project – and the show should have little trouble attracting sci-fi fans looking for a new series to rally around.
TERRA NOVA is still expected to begin airing on Fox by Fall 2011.
