Imagine talking about one of your favorite series, when suddenly the creator of the show calls in to join the discussion. That's exactly what happened last night on our podcast, Fandom Access. Riese: Kingdom Falling creator, writer, and producer Ryan Copple surprised the cohosts and the fans by calling in to the show live to answer questions.

According to Copple, the story of Riese did not originally start out as a web series. "It started as a short that I wrote with a friend of mine. And it was really inspired by a lot of personal events, because I’ve traveled a lot, and some anime influences. We took it to Kaleena Kiff, who is the other creator of Riese. We asked her to direct the short and she was like “No, no, no, this isn’t a short; this is a series." So Kaleena and I co-created it into a world. Whereas the short was about Riese herself, traveling with a wolf, it was more of a standalone journey, entering a really weird town and having some sort of moral dilemma that she faced. We were able to build it as a world and a series that had lots of characters to bring it to life and a whole serialized arc that could carry it throughout the show. And it just sort of grew from there, from both of us.

We were actually referencing a lot of [steampunk] before we actually knew what steampunk was, and then eventually I think I found a Wikipedia entry and I said to Kaleena, “This is what we’ve been talking about this whole time. It’s exactly what it is: steampunk.” We always say we’re steampunk-inspired, because we’re not the purest steampunk where it’s more the Victorian era. Instead we see Riese as more of a Dark Ages-Medieval meets World War I time period...It feels very fantasy and medieval, but at times there are certain hints of modern technology. Like when she’s in the hospital there are some very modern things, and it’s sort of the blending of those two eras. And that’s what’s really fun about steampunk, the “what if” of it, just imagining what could be in a different future."

Syfy's all new drama Being Human is not being considered a remake, but a "re-imagining" of the UK series of the same name. The show will star Sam Witwer, Sam Huntington, Meaghan Rath, and Mark Pellegrino as Bishop. Thirteen one-hour episodes of the series has been ordered.

The show follows the lives of the three paranormal roomates living together in Boston, as they try to hide their new secrets.

Sam Witwer, who plays Aidan, the vampire, is well known for his work in science fiction. He is probably best known for the roles of Crashdown on Battlestar Galactica, another Syfy re-imagining, and that of Davis Bloom and Doomsday on the series Smallville. He also had reoccuring roles on such series as Dexter and CSI. Witwer has also appeared on the silver screen as well, in films such as The Mist and Gamer. Witwer has also done voice work, such as for the video game Star Wars: Force Unleashed, and more recently, its sequel.

Sam Huntington, who plays the part of Josh, the werewolf, first started his career on stage, where he landed roles such as that of Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird at the Peterborough Players in New Hampshire. He first film appearance was in Jungle 2 Jungle. He can also be seen in such movies as Superman Returns, in which he played the part of Jimmy Olsen, and has had guest appearances on series such as CSI: New York and Human Target.

Meaghan Rath plays the part of the ghost, Sally. She landed her first professional role in the Sundance Festival hit Lost and Delirious. She starred in the Canadian series 15/Love as well as the series the The Assistants. She also appeared in movies such as 10.5: Apocalypse and I Me Wed.

Sam Witwer, Sam Huntington, and Meaghan Rath sat down in a recent press tour in Orlando to discuss the upcoming Syfy series.

By Karen Moul


Syfy continues to shake up the schedule and expand beyond its sci-fi roots with new and different programming, and things got very different this month when WWE Friday Night SmackDown premiered on October 1.

While many have had trouble understanding the move, SmackDown could be a shrewd move for Syfy as the network looks to expand into other entertainment platforms, including gaming. SmackDown is a big draw among a critical audience, males aged 18-49. If the existing WWE audience makes its way over to Syfy, the network has the opportunity to engage them in other Syfy programs and grow its overall audience.

It's a good move for WWE too. By joining Syfy, Friday Night SmackDown is now part of the NBC Universal family. That means considerable marketing across NBC platforms which include such properties as USA, Telemundo, the Universal theme parks, and Hulu. Opportunities for cross promotion are almost endless.

So far SmackDown is settling into its new home nicely. The ratings for the past four weeks have been pretty solid and SmackDown continues to be a top five show among males 18-34. It was actually down a bit last week (October 22), but the Major League Baseball playoffs over on TBS have been stiff competition. Nevertheless, SmackDown was the number two cable show among males 18-49, behind the final game of the Yankees-Rangers series. It will be interesting to see what happens after the World Series when viewing habits get back to normal.

Meanwhile, the WWE crew is getting comfortable in their new digs. "We have a whole new audience now with Syfy," says two time women's champion Beth Phoenix, "and I feel like WWE is just as excited to cross over with them as they are to have us cross over." Superstar Cody Rhodes is taking the crossover very seriously - in August he was a guest star on Warehouse 13.

Beth Phoenix and·Kofi Kingston recently met with journalists to discuss life as WWE Superstars. Two of the most engaging performers on the press tour, they discussed everything from diet and exercise to their favorite Syfy shows.