HBO finally developing a science fiction series

The success of Game of Thrones has shown HBO that geek genres like fantasy can be profitable while not undermining their brand, so it was only a matter of time before they ventured into science fiction.

Although they were developing a tantalising mini-series version of Trent Reznor's dystopian Nine Inch Nails concept album Year Zero a couple of years ago, that project doesn't seem to be going anywhere. This new one, The Spark, is long-form and suggests that HBO is cool with genre now that Game of Thrones is their second most successful show ever, which makes it a milestone.

The Spark is from Karl Gajdusek, co-creator of Last Resort and co-writer of Oblivion. Not the most impressive pedigree since the swiftly-cancelled Last Resort reputedly couldn't turn a stellar pilot concept into a series and Oblivion was derivative and hollow. But D.B. Weiss didn't even have any produced credits before Game of Thrones, and that turned out okay.

To quote Deadline's synopsis from their announcement: