The Ark (TV series)

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The Ark
TV release poster
Genre
Created byDean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
  • Dean Devlin
  • Jonathan Glassner
  • Marc Roskin
  • Rachel Olschan-Wilson
  • Steve Lee
Producers
Production locationsPFI Studios, Belgrade, Serbia
Production companies
Original release
NetworkSyfy
ReleaseFebruary 1, 2023 (2023-02-01) –
present (present)

The Ark is an American science fiction television series created by Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner, who also serve as showrunners for the series. It premiered on Syfy on February 1, 2023, with the first season consisting of twelve episodes. The series stars Christie Burke as Lt. Sharon Garnet who becomes the de facto captain of an interstellar spacecraft after a disaster. It also stars Reece Ritchie, Richard Fleeshman, Stacey Michelle Read, Ryan Adams, Pavle Jerinić, Shalini Peiris, Christina Wolfe, and Tiana Upcheva. In April 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.[1]

Premise[edit]

A hundred years in the future, a spacecraft known as Ark One is shuttling a complement of would-be colonists away from a devastated Earth to a new home, Proxima b. The ship suffers a catastrophic event that kills almost all of the technical crew and all of the ship's senior officers. The survivors must work to reorganize themselves to maintain the ship and stay on course to reach their destination.[2]

The premise is very similar to the 1970s series The Starlost, in which a multi-generational starship called Earthship Ark was launched to allow the passengers to escape a dying Earth. More than 100 years into the voyage, an unexplained accident occurs, and the ship goes into emergency mode. The survivors have to figure out how to safely pilot the starship.

Cast and characters[edit]

Main[edit]

  • Christie Burke as Lt. Sharon Garnet,[3] one of the three highest-ranking remaining members of the crew and the de facto captain of the ship after the disaster
  • Reece Ritchie as Lt. Spencer Lane,[3] one of the three highest-ranking remaining members of the crew; he is suspicious of Garnet's leadership
  • Richard Fleeshman as Lt. James Brice,[3] one of the three highest-ranking remaining members of the crew and a self-proclaimed "navigation wonk" who now has to take on other duties after the disaster
  • Stacey Read as Alicia Nevins,[3] a waste management engineer with coding skills who is promoted to chief of life support
  • Ryan Adams as Angus Medford,[3] a farm and 4-H youth from horticulture whose duties include crop development at the prospective colony
  • Pavle Jerinić[4] as Felix Strickland, acting head of security enforcement
  • Shalini Peiris[4] as Dr. Sanjivni Kabir, the only remaining doctor on the medical staff
  • Christina Wolfe[4] as Dr. Cat Brandice, a social media star and "TV relationship specialist" who Garnet orders to be the head of ship-wide mental health
  • Tiana Upcheva[4] as Eva Markovic, acting head of maintenance, engineering and construction

Supporting[edit]

  • Lisa Brenner as Lieutenant Commander Susan Ingram, a career military officer,[4] who would have been the superior officer to the surviving crew
  • Miles Barrow as Baylor Trent, an ensign and Ingram's protégé.
  • Dominik Čičak as Harris Beckner, a member of Eva's engineering team and her secret lover.
  • Chris Leask as Jasper Dades, a crew member with a secret.
  • Paul Murray as Ark inventor William Trust.
  • Mercedes De La Cruz as Helena Trust, William's wife.
  • Samantha Glassner as Kelly Fowler, an Ark 3 survivor.
  • Jelena Stupljanin as Evelyn Maddox, Trust's rival.

Episodes[edit]

No.Title [5][6]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [5][6]U.S. viewers
1"Everyone Wanted to Be on This Ship"Dean DevlinDean DevlinFebruary 1, 2023 (2023-02-01)578,000[7]
2"Like It Touched the Sun"Milan TodorovićJonathan GlassnerFebruary 8, 2023 (2023-02-08)408,000[8]
3"Get Out and Push"Milan TodorovićJohn-Paul NickelFebruary 15, 2023 (2023-02-15)310,000[9]
4"We Weren't Supposed to Be Awake"Sandra MitrovićRebecca RosenbergFebruary 22, 2023 (2023-02-22)350,000[10]
5"One Step Forward, Two Steps Back"Sandra MitrovićKendall LampkinMarch 1, 2023 (2023-03-01)340,000[11]
6"Two by Two"Milan TodorovićJonathan GlassnerMarch 8, 2023 (2023-03-08)361,000[12]
7"A Slow Death Is Worse"Milan TodorovićJohn-Paul NickelMarch 15, 2023 (2023-03-15)426,000[13]
8"Every Single Person Matters"Orsi NagypalKendall LampkinMarch 22, 2023 (2023-03-22)403,000[14]
9"The Painful Way"Orsi NagypalJohn-Paul NickelMarch 29, 2023 (2023-03-29)339,000[15]
10"Hoping for Forever"Sandra MitrovićJonathan GlassnerApril 5, 2023 (2023-04-05)357,000[16]
11"The Last Thing You Ever Do"Milan TodorovićRebecca RosenbergApril 12, 2023 (2023-04-12)437,000[17]
12"Everybody Wins"Jonathan GlassnerJohn-Paul NickelApril 19, 2023 (2023-04-19)463,000[18]

Production[edit]

The Ark went straight-to-series in late January 2022 with a 12-episode order from SyFy.[19] Principal photography began at PFI Studios in Belgrade, Serbia in March of that year. Dean Devlin and Jonathan Glassner serve as showrunners and producers.[3][20]

In March 2022, it was announced that the regular cast of the series had been set, with Christie Burke starring as Lt. Sharon Garnet, along with Richard Fleeshman, Reece Ritchie, Stacey Read, and newcomer Ryan Adams.[3] In April 2022, it was announced that Lisa Brenner would be a recurring guest star, playing Commander Susan Ingram, with Christina Wolfe, Shalini Peiris, Miles Barrow, Pavle Jerinić, and Tiana Upcheva also recurring.[4]

On April 12, 2023, Syfy renewed the series for a second season.[1]

Broadcast and release[edit]

The series trailer was released in December 2022.[21] It premiered on Syfy on February 1, 2023,[22][23] with episodes to be streamed the next day on Peacock.[24]

Reception[edit]

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported a 50% approval rating based on 14 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The core concept of The Ark ought to be alluring enough for the sci-fi faithful, but blasé writing and chintzy production values call into question whether this particular world is worth preserving."[25] Metacritic assigned a score of 50 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[26]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Porter, Rick (April 12, 2023). "'The Ark' Renewed at Syfy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  2. ^ Easton, Anne (January 31, 2023). "'The Ark' Isn't a Show About Laser-Beam Fights with Strange Aliens, It's About People in a Pressure Cooker Situation". Forbes. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Otterson, Joe (March 31, 2022). "Dean Devlin Syfy Series 'The Ark' Sets Main Cast (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Roxborough, Scott (April 25, 2022). "Lisa Brenner Joins Syfy Series 'The Ark'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "The Ark – Listings". Zap2it. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Ark, The (Syfy) - Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Salem, Mitch (February 2, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 2.1.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Salem, Mitch (February 9, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 2.8.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  9. ^ Salem, Mitch (February 9, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 2.15.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  10. ^ Salem, Mitch (February 23, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 2.22.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Salem, Mitch (March 2, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 3.1.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  12. ^ Salem, Mitch (March 9, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 3.8.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Salem, Mitch (March 16, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 3.15.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Salem, Mitch (March 23, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 3.22.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  15. ^ Salem, Mitch (March 30, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 3.29.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Salem, Mitch (April 6, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 4.5.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  17. ^ Salem, Mitch (April 13, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 4.12.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  18. ^ Salem, Mitch (April 20, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Wednesday 4.19.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  19. ^ ""The Ark" Flies to Syfy with "Independence Day" Writer/Producer Dean Devlin at the Helm" (Press release). Syfy. January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via The Futon Critic.
  20. ^ Alter, Ethan (February 2, 2023). "Dean Devlin explains why 'The Ark' isn't 'woke' sci-fi: 'There's an attempt to politicize everything now'". Yahoo!. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  21. ^ Weiss, Josh (December 7, 2022). "'The Ark': Dean Devlin opens up about 'survival' story in new sci-fi series, as SyFy reveals first footage". Syfy Wire. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  22. ^ Weiss, Josh (January 4, 2023). "Syfy Drops First Trailer For Deep Space Mystery Thriller 'The Ark' Ahead Of Feb. 1 Series Premiere". Syfy Wire. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  23. ^ ""The Ark" Lands February 2023 on Syfy" (Press release). Syfy. December 7, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via The Futon Critic.
  24. ^ Spry, Jeff (February 1, 2023). "'The Ark' premiere sets up a sci-fi survival saga in outer space". Space.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  25. ^ "The Ark: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  26. ^ "The Ark: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved March 23, 2024.

External links[edit]

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