Another day, another bit of disappointing news: Sam Esmail’s Battlestar Galactica reboot is dead at Peacock. The series was announced in 2019 as part of the then-nascent streamer’s first wave of programming, and, predictably, stirred up a whole lot of please-no-more-reboots-and-remakes griping.
These gripes are generally understandable, and I have made them about other properties myself, but consider: Esmail is the mastermind behind Mr. Robot, one of the best under-appreciated series of recent years. He has already proven himself with ensemble casts, conspiracy theories, elaborate plots, stylish and surprising episodes, and brazen storytelling choices. And he wasn’t going to straight-up reboot Ron Moore’s Battlestar Galactica, anyway. As he wrote on the site formerly known as Twitter at the time, “BSG fans, this will NOT be a remake of the amazing series @RonDMoore launched because… why mess with perfection? Instead, we’ll explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar. So say we all!”
So say we all, indeed. Battlestar Galactica began its life as a short-lived 1970s ABC show before being reborn, in 2003, as Ron Moore’s messy, compelling, epic, ambitious space opera about the last dregs of humanity trying to survive an attack by the robots they had created. At its best, it was brilliant (“33”) and emotional (“Someone to Watch Over Me”). At its worst, it got real sloppy (the ending). It’s exactly the kind of show that could be creatively and powerfully re-imagined by someone with a vision.
As Variety put it, the series was “a passion project” for Esmail, who has been developing it for the past five years. Just months ago, in January, Derek Simonds (The Sinner) was announced as writer and showrunner, which was interesting and disappointing at once. (I really wanted Esmail’s hand all over this show.)
Variety notes that, “According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, UCP will shop the project to other outlets.” Dear other outlets: Please pick up this show. Please bring back nuanced and complex character work combined with incredible space set pieces and interesting inquiries into the nature of personhood. Please let Sam Esmail make his show. Please?
