This summer, the alien invasion won’t be in theaters [Falling Skies]
In 1977, Steven Spielberg made us look to the skies with his science fiction classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This summer, Spielberg and DreamWorks Television are bringing a radically different alien encounter to television on TNT.
Called Falling Skies, this series is not about a friendly encounter. Just the opposite. If Close Encounters was about the wonder and mystery of a peaceful alien contact, Falling Skies is about the cataclysm and the fear of alien invaders.
Set six months after a devastating alien attack, humanity finds itself fighting for survival while trying to fight back against the alien threat. The series focuses on the resilience of those who survive, and how they overcome insurmountable odds against an invading force. Think, War of the Worlds meets Jericho.
Starring in the series is Noah Wyle (television’s ER) as Tom Mason, a history professor who must use his knowledge of military history to lead the rebellion in Boston. Mason has seen his wife die and one of his sons get abducted by the aliens. Now, with his two remaining sons, he must find a weakness in the alien force while struggling to rebuild his community.
Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) plays Anne Glass, a pediatrician working with the surviving children, helping them to cope with their war-ravaged existence. Will Patton (Armageddon, TNT’s Into the West) is Weaver, a fierce leader of the resistance.
The series also stars Drew Roy, Maxim Knight, Connor Jessup, Seychelle Gabriel, Mpho Koaho, Peter Shinkoda, Colin Cunningham and Sarah Carter.
The aliens in the series are created by combining live action and special visual effects.
Falling Skies is executive-produced by Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Graham Yost and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an Oscar® nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. Mark Verheiden and Greg Beeman are co-executive producers. The pilot was directed by Carl Franklin.
Falling Skies is slated to premiere in summer 2011 on TNT.