SYFY ORDERS PILOTS ‘CIPHER’ AND ‘(FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC’ FROM UCP

SYFY ORDERS PILOTS ‘CIPHER’ AND ‘(FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC’ FROM UCP

‘CIPHER’ (WT) Executive Produced by Rough House Pictures

‘(FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC’ (WT) From Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video

NEW YORK, NY -- January 29, 2019 -- SYFY today announced pilot pickups for two new scripted projects– CIPHER (WT), which follows a boy and his father in the middle of a war over artificial intelligence, and (FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC (WT), a dark comedy which uniquely combines the genres of slasher films, high school drama and speculative satire. The pilots, both produced by UCP, will go into production later this year.

“It has been an inspiring process working with teams behind CIPHER and (FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC,” said Dawn Olmstead, President, UCP. “Allison Miller and Shay Hatten are rising stars who have created strong and diverse worlds that we are looking forward to bringing to life with our partners at SYFY.”

“CIPHER and (FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC are genre-bending stories with gripping scripts and talented creatives attached,” said Bill McGoldrick, President, Scripted Content, NBCU Cable Entertainment. “Both are very unique projects that we are excited to pilot as we look towards the future of SYFY.”

In CIPHER, secret military technology is unexpectedly implanted in the brain of a 13-year-old video game junkie, when the boy and his father unwittingly find themselves at the center of the next great war —over artificial intelligence. Allison Miller (“Strange Angel”) will write and executive produce via her overall deal with UCP. David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jody Hill and Brandon James will also executive produce on behalf of Rough House Pictures (“Halloween”). Peter Hoar (UCP’s “The Umbrella Academy” pilot for Netflix) will direct.

The darkly comedic (FUTURE) CULT CLASSIC, written by Shay Hatten (“Ballerina”), is set 18 years in the future and centered on a group of teens whose community is rocked by a 1990s slasher-movie obsessed serial killer. Our heroes quickly realize they’re being targeted and decide to take matters into their own hands and track down the killer—before time runs out. Tim Kirkby (“Veep”) will executive produce and direct the pilot. Broadway Video will executive produce.

About SYFY
SYFY is a global, multiplatform media brand that gives science fiction fans of all kinds a universe to call home. Celebrating the genre in all its forms, SYFY super-serves passionate fans with original science fiction, fantasy, paranormal and superhero programming, live event coverage and imaginative digital and social content. The brand is powered by SYFY WIRE (www.syfy.com), the premier portal for breaking genre news, insight and commentary. SYFY is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

About UCP
UCP is a premium content studio that operates with a highly curated indie sensibility, while simultaneously leveraging the power and scale of NBCUniversal. As fierce advocates for creators with an eclectic point of view, the UCP team develops pioneering original programming with partners such as Amazon (“Homecoming”), Netflix (“The Umbrella Academy”), Hulu (“The Act”) and YouTube (“Impulse”). In addition, UCP produces high-caliber content for NBCU Cable networks, including Bravo (“Dirty John”), USA (the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning drama “Mr. Robot,” the Golden Globe nominated “The Sinner,” “The Purge” and “Suits” ) and SYFY (“Happy!,” and “The Magicians”). UCP’s content library also features 800 hours of award-winning and critically-acclaimed content, including the Emmy Award-winning “Monk,” the Peabody and Hugo Award-winning “Battlestar Galactica” and the Emmy nominated “Psych.”