George R.R. Martin has made himself “completely available” to the Nightflyers producers

With Game of Thrones more popular than it’s ever been, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin is a hot commodity, and Syfy is trying to hitch a wagon to his star with a TV adaptation of the writer’s 1980 novella Nightflyers, a spooky sci-fi story about a group of astronauts seeking out a mysterious alien life form. “As they race towards first contact, terrifying and violent events begin to occur, causing the once tight-knit crew to mistrust each other,” reads Syfy’s synopsis. “It’s not long before their main mission becomes survival.” Oh s**t.

The stars and producers were at San Diego Comic-Con last month, and the fine people at FanSided got to needle some of them with questions…and they got video! Let’s look at what some of them had to say, starting with executive producers David Bartis and Gene Klein:

I know the audio is unclear. Here are the takeaways:

• The first 10 episodes of the show basically follow the novella. It’s not a long novella, so beyond that, things must go off-page.
• This is a science fiction show, but the writers tried to keep things grounded and imagine what technology might realistically be capable of in 75 years.

Perhaps the most noteworthy bit comes near the beginning, when both Bartis and Klein agree that Martin was “involved” in the show. “He was super-supportive,” Bartis said. “He gave feedback on the pilot episode. He’s made himself completely available to [showrunner Jeff Buhler].”

Now, we shouldn’t take this as evidence that Martin is deeply involved in development on Nightflyers, because he’s not. Martin’s development deal with HBO would prevent him from working on the show even if he wanted to, and Bartis confirms that he’s not in the writer’s room or anything. But the author did give “his blessing.”

Next, actors David Ajala (Roy Eris) and Gretchen Mol (Dr. Agatha Matheson) give their takes on what to expect:

The most interesting thing from this video is when Ajala starts to give away something dramatic but then trails off. “Sadly, in Episode…”

Nightflyers will have a plot twist. Print it.

Finally, Eoin Macken (Karl D’Branin) and Jodie Turner-Smith (Melantha Jhirl) talk about their experiences on set:

Macken teases growth arcs for the characters, saying they’ll be in different places at the end of the season versus where they start, but mostly this interview is worth it for Turner-Smith, who seems like a lot of fun. Her highlights:

• “We just knew that whatever was gonna go on, it was gonna be expensive. Thank you, George!…For making people open their wallets.”
• “There were definitely things that I can’t talk about. But there were things that I read that I was like…[shocked expression.]”
• “I get it now; the Leprechauns at the end of the rainbow thing…The rainbows in Ireland are very next level!”

That last one was a near-complete non sequitur. I know hope Nightflyers is a success purely so Turner-Smith will get to do more interviews.

Syfy premieres this fall.

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