Justin Lin To Bring Radiant Doors To WGN America
This article is more than 2 years old
The future is starting to look very bright indeed for fans of science fiction television. Recently we’ve got news of an almost ridiculous number of new TV projects that are in the works at various networks. From the big boys to basic cable to the premium channels, everyone is clamoring to churn out new sci-fi shows. It’s going to be a good time. Check out David’s write up of some of our most anticipated titles HERE. Not to be left out of the party, cable channel WGN America is teaming up with Fast & Furious 6 director Justin Lin to create a series out of the short story Radiant Doors.
Written by Michael Swanwick, Radiant Doors was originally published in 1998, and went on to rack up a bunch of prestigious awards. In 1999, the story won the Asimov’s reader poll, racked up a nomination for a Hugo Award for the best short story, and gathered another nom for the 2000 Nebula Awards. Not bad for one short story. According to Variety, Lin will direct the pilot, while Jeremy Doner (The Killing) will handle the writing duties.
Fans of Comedy Central’s long-running animated comedy South Park may find the story of Radiant Doors somewhat familiar. The narrative follows a woman named Virginia. She works for an aid organization that provides services to millions of new immigrants. The twist is, these aren’t transplants from one nation to another, they are immigrants from the future, a future full of all kinds of horrors, the kind that cause a bunch of folks to travel back in time through “radiant doors” in search of a better life. When one refugee gives Virginia a mysterious device from the future, the government comes looking for the item. While this specific story is limited as far as a series goes, the world, complete with millions of stories, has a sprawling, expansive potential, and topical thematic applications.
This announcement follows a couple of other big developments for WGN. The network is about to debut their first original scripted show—the 17th-century witch drama Salem—and just the other day they announced that they are trying to adapt Jason Aaron’s Native American-noir saga Scalped. It may not be sci-fi, but you should all run out and read the entire run of Scalped, it’s one of the best recent crime comics.
Radiant Doors joins a veritable traffic jam of promising new sci-fi shows on the horizon. Syfy alone has Z Nation, Ascension, 12 Monkeys, The Expanse, and High Moon in the works. This summer CBS premieres Extant, starring Halle Berry and produced by Steven Spielberg. Then there’s an adaptation of Frederik Pohl’s Gateway, Incursion on Starz, and even more I know I’m forgetting. Speculative fiction is about to be all over your TV, you better clear out your DVRs.
