George R.R. Martin Novella 'Nightflyers' to be adapted

CAIRO - 26 January 2018: George R.R. Martin has successfully received funding from the Irish Film Board to adapt his 'Nightflyers' sci-fi/horror short story into a Television series on the Syfy channel.

The legendary author of the A Song of Ice and Fire (also known as the Game of Thrones) returned to Ireland after receiving $1.1 million courtesy of the Irish funding agency, the largest award given in its current round of funding.

The series, based on the titular novella, is set on a spaceship in the cold darkness of space and follows eight unconventional scientists and a telepath looking to make contact with alien life alongside the crew of the 'The Nightflyer' ship. However, complications arise after mistrust and sabotage occurs amongst the crew and scientists, leading towards a horrific series of events. “Nightflyers” as a story is part of a grander setting called the "Thousand Worlds”, an exploration of a far distinct future for humanity. Other stories in this setting include “Dying of the Light” and “Sandkings”.

This isn't the first time this terrible tale received an adaptation, in 1987 it was made into film by director Robert Collector (under the name T.C. Blake), starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Michael Praed and John Standing.


The new “Nightflyers” will be showrun by Daniel Cerone and screenwritten by Jeff Buhler of “Jacob's Ladder” fame, who is also an executive producer. The show is currently being shot at Troy Studios in Limerick and produced by Universal Cable Productions, with an order of 10 episodes.

The current cast list includes Gretchen Mol of Broadwalk Empire, David Ajala from the Fast & Furious 6, Maya Eshet of Teen Wolf, Sam Strike from Eastenders and Brian F. O 'Byrne from Million Dollar Baby, amongst others, possibly including well-known faces from the Game of Thrones series on HBO. Netflix as co-producers have also obtained distribution rights for the show outside of the USA as well, ensuring a wider audience reach.

No release date has been confirmed, though a 2019 release is anticipated.