‘Babylon 5’ Series Reboot Written By Creator J. Michael Straczynski Heading To The CW

Science fiction television always seems to get second chances more than any other genre on the small screen. Shows like “Star Trek” have spawned multiple incarnations after the original series was canceled back in the 1960s, “Doctor Who” had its own resurrection too, George Clooney is working with Legendary on a new “Buck Rogers” series, Peacock is moving forward with the third incarnation of “Battlestar Galactica,” Netflix is wrapping up on “Lost In Space.” Even the British cult series “Red Dwarf” keeps chugging along.

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Now, it’s been revealed by Deadline that “Babylon 5” is getting a long-overdue series reboot from creator J. Michael Straczynski, and the project from Warner Bros. Television is said to be heading to The CW. The original series that debuted in 1994 and ran for five seasons focuses on a diplomatic space station; the project was always conceived to run for five seasons and was planned out from the jump.

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“An Earthforce officer, John Sheridan, is assigned to Babylon 5, a five-mile-long space station in neutral space, a port of call for travelers, smugglers, corporate explorers, and alien diplomats at a time of uneasy peace and the constant threat of war.”

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Straczynski will write the new show (that will still follow John Sheridan) and produce via Studio JMS.

“Babylon 5” mixed practical makeup alongside the new digital special effects for space sequences.

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Admittedly, I remember watching the show and always getting the impression it was always slightly more gritty and mature for a sci-fi series, being closer to the recent “Battlestar Galactica” reboot than “Star Trek” or other genre projects at the time like the “X-Files” or “Sliders.” There were also obvious similarities to “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” which took place on a space station where conflict was consistent.