
Syfy Channel in the US have picked up broadcast rights for a Canadian television adaptation of comic book character ‘Wynonna Earp’.
The show is based on a comic created by Beau Smith and will star Melanie Scrofano in the title role.
According to Deadline the series is slated to begin production this September in Calgary. It is expected to debut in April of 2016 and will run for 13 episodes.
The series is described as a cross between ‘Justified’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, only this would have the hard drinking and cowboy boots that Buffy never had. In the comics and the series Wynonna Earp is a direct descendant of Wyatt Earp, tasked with fighting supernatural forces.
Tim Rozon (who appeared on multiple episodes of Syfy’s ‘Being Human’) and Shamier Anderson (also a Syfy veteran who’s appeared on ‘Defiance‘) have also been cast, as Doc Holliday and Agent Dolls, respectively. Scrofano is also familiar to Syfy, with roles in both ‘Warehouse 13’ and ‘Haven.’
The comic book series of Wynonna Earp debuted in 1996 under the banner of Wildstorm Comics, which was a division of Image Comics at the time. The mini series was written by Beau Smith and drawn by Joyce Chin and, in later issues, Pat Lee. The series moved to IDW for 2003’s ‘Wynonna Earp: Home On The Strange,’ and the publisher also released 2010’s ‘Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars,’ which was the characters most recent comics appearance.
As a fan of supernatural fiction I’ll be curious to see where this goes. It might even fill a little of the voice left by the absence of ‘Lost Girl’ from Syfy’s schedules.