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SYFY’s The Ark: Humanity Fights to Survive

by Transmute Jun

This February, SYFY will be launching The Ark, a new television show about humanity’s attempt to survive when our planet is doomed. Showrunners Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner present an intriguing story about how far people will go for the chance of survival.

Lt. Sharon Garnet

Taking place approximately 100 years in the future, the Earth is plagued by environmental disaster, such that no one is truly certain how long humanity can survive. The only way to ensure that the human race will survive and thrive is to attempt to populate other planets. Yet there isn’t enough time to determine which planet would work best. Instead, data from deep space probes is used to determine planets with potential, and colonization ships, known as arks, are sent to each one. The first such ship to launch is Ark One, around which The Ark is based.

Lt. James Brice

The people on Ark One are the best of the best, but competition for the Ark program is fierce… so fierce that some people are willing to do anything to make sure that they qualify. After all, the Ark program may be everyone’s best chance of survival. Even more, if Ark One is successful in establishing a colony, the families of everyone onboard are first in line to join them, escaping Earth’s doomed fate.

Alicia Nevins

Ark One is headed to Proxima B, in the Alpha Centauri system. This is a 5-6 year journey, but 4 years in, disaster strikes when something hits the ship. The crew is in stasis in pod bays, but is rudely awakened when Ark One begins breaking apart. More than half of the people onboard are killed in this event, setting the stage for the remaining survivors who have to finish their journey awake, on a damaged ship, with a lack of trained personnel. The majority of the surviving passengers are civilians, who were selected for their colonization skills, not their ability to run a space ship.

Lt. Spencer Lane

Into this challenging environment come the 3 remaining officers: Lt. Sharon Garnet (played by Christie Burke), Lt. Spencer Lane (played by Reece Ritchie) and Lt. James Brice (played by Richard Fleeshman). Garnet clearly has some kind of agenda from the start, forcing herself into command over the objections of Lane and Brice. Brice is a spontaneous person with little tolerance for argument or red tape. He does what he thinks needs doing, often leaping before he looks. In contrast, Lane is the most practical and responsible of the three. Lane resents Garnet for pushing him aside to take over leadership of Ark One, and is frustrated by Brice’s lack of prudence.

Angus Medford

Stepping up to help fill holes left by missing crew are teens Angus Medford (played by Ryan Adams) and Alicia Nevins (played by Stacey Read). They are exceptional young people, motivated by growing up on a dying planet, who have never known anything but the drive to work hard and improve life for others. Yet while their contributions to Ark One are not in question, their youth and naïveté sometimes puts them at a disadvantage, as they are surrounded by adults with secrets and hidden motivations.

Cat Brandice

One such adult is Cat Brandice (played by Christina Wolfe), a manipulative social media star whose only goal is to survive, regardless of whom else loses out in the process. On the other side of the scale is Dr. Sanjivni Kabir (played by Shalini Peiris), who sacrifices her own health and wellbeing to treat everyone else, as the only surviving doctor on the ship.

Dr. Sanjivni Kabir

The first few episodes of The Ark highlight these clashing personalities as the ship comes under crisis after crisis. Yet the crew’s determination to survive, knowing that the fate of the entire human race might rest on their shoulders, is ultimately what holds this drama together.

The Ark premieres on SYFY on February 1, 2023 at 10 pm Eastern time, with episodes airing on Peacock the following day.

Watch the first 5 minutes of The Ark:

 

Are you planning to watch The Ark? Join the conversation on the FoCC forums!

Transmute Jun

Transmute Jun has an addiction to pop culture conventions, and attends as many as she can each year. When she's not traveling, she likes to stay at home reading a good book, playing a video game, or binge-watching a TV show. She can be bribed with pizza, Coke Zero and Belgian milk chocolate.

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