NBCUniversal said it has signed Derek Simonds as the new writer and showrunner for the upcoming Peacock reboot of Battlestar Galactica.
Simonds (The Sinner, When We Rise) joins Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot, Leave The World Behind) and Chad Hamilton (The Resort, Homecoming) as executive producers for the new show, NBCUniversal confirmed with Cord Cutters News. The series is a passion project for Esmail, a big fan of the franchise. He wants to release episodes in batches related to each story instead of the entire season at once or on a weekly basis.
The reboot of Battlestar Galactica went into development with Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, in 2019. The series is said to be a reimagining featuring a new cast. Michael Lesslie initially signed on as writer and executive producer but left in 2021 to work on Hulu’s upcoming series Maddaddam, an adaptation of a trilogy written by Margaret Atwood. The show has continued to suffer numerous delays over the past four years as Esmail began work on an Apple TV+ series, Metropolis, which has since been scrapped, and pre-production paused during the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes of last year.
The original Battlestar Galactica was created by Glen A. Larson and starred Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, and Lorne Green. It was based on a 1978 film of the same name and produced by Universal. The series ran on ABC for only one season and followed the last human survivors venturing through space to find a mythical planet called Earth during the robot Cylon wars.
Battlestar Galactica had a shortlived 10-episode spinoff sequel called Galactica 1980, and the franchise spawned several books, comic series, a board game, and video games. The series was revamped in 2003 as a miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel by Ron D. Moore. It ran as a full series from 2004 to 2009, starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, and Grace Park. The revival inspired two TV movies, Razor in 2007 and The Plan in 2009, before the debut of Caprica, a one-season spinoff prequel series launched in 2010.
The franchise also ran multiple web series, including The Resistance, Razor Flashbacks, The Face of the Enemy, and Blood & Crime.
In 2020, screenwriter Simon Kinberg (Invasion) signed to write and produce a Battlestar Galactica film for Universal. In a 2022 interview with Collider, Kinberg said there’s a “synergy” and “constant communication” between his project, which he calls a “megillah, humongous film,” and Esmail’s series.
“We’ve become close and been having a really good time together, and there will be, for lack of a better phrase, and it’s an overused phrase, a shared universe,” said Kinberg.