Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel: "SCI FI Reveals New Series

SCI FI Channel announced a slate of new original series for the 2006-07 season, adding projects from luminaries in film, television and literature to its roster of scripted dramas, miniseries and alternative series. The new shows will incorporate the mainstream appeal of fantasy, adventure and alternative reality.

The following scripted series are currently in development:

•An untitled project executive-produced by Academy Award-winning actor/producer Michael Douglas, based on the work of the late author Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House). Storylines and themes from Jackson's catalog of supernatural short stories will be woven into her real life experiences transitioning from urban mom to small-town matriarch.

•Heroes Anonymous, a live-action series based the comic book created by Scott Gimpel and Bill Morrison which follows a group of 20-something aspiring superheroes who form a support group to help them discover their own identity while carving out their secret identity. The series will be executive-produced by Lawrence Bender (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction), Kevin Brown (Legend of Earthsea, Roswell) and Karl Schaefer (The Dead Zone). Gimpel and Morrison will write the pilot.

•Those Who Walk in Darkness, a drama based on John Ridley's (Three Kings, Third Watch) best-selling novel of the same name about an expert team of S.W.A.T. police whose primary mission is to hunt down and capture people who genetically possess super powers. John Ridley will write and executive-produce in association with NBC Universal Television Studio."

There are more series listed, but the one that interests me the most is Those who Walk in Darkness. I read the novel, thought it was great, and wanted more. The novel seemed to be setting some things up for a sequel anyway, so it's already tailor-made to be explored as a TV series. Plus, it's incredibly dark and humorless, which makes it a perfect fit with another new SciFi hit series, Battlestar Galactica. (Don't get me wrong; I love the new Galactica, but saying it's dark is like saying my cat, Penelope, is slightly fuzzy and enigmatic.)

Of course, the gutters of Hollywood and Canada are littered with TV series in development for SciFi that never make it to air (wither the proposed TV series spin-off from Chronicles of Riddick/Pitch Black, although that was tied into a failed movie...) so I'm not holding my breath.