Syfy Renews ‘The Ark’

The Ark
Syfy's 'The Ark' (Image credit: Syfy)

Syfy has greenlit a second season of its space-themed drama The Ark, a week before the series’ April 19 season finale. 

The series, created by Independence Day’s Dean Devlin, has reached 6.5 million viewers across all platforms. The show drew 1.1 million viewers in its February 1 premiere, the best Syfy series debut since Resident Alien in 2021, according to the network.

The Ark, which stars Christie Burke, Richard Fleeshman and Reece Ritchie, chronicles the travails of a planetary colonization mission launched in an effort to save the future of the human race 100 years into the future. The series is executive produced by Devlin, Jonathan Glasner, Mark Roskin, Rachel Olschan-Wilson, Jonathan English and Steve Lee. 

“The success of The Ark is just another example of delivering on a promise to provide a wide spectrum of quality shows across our linear, cable and streaming portfolios,” NBCUniversal and Streaming President of Scripted Programming Lisa Katz said in a statement. “Heading into space with Dean and Jonathan has  truly been a trip worth taking and we’re  tremendously excited about how this otherworldly adventure continues in season two.” 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.