Zak Penn has been writing superhero movies for a while now, so it probably makes perfect sense that he would also pen a TV series about people with superpowers. Or, actually, superpower. The premise behind Penn’s Alphas (originally called Section 8 when it was being sold around town 2 years ago) needs a little explaining.
THR describes the premise this way:
…a team of ordinary citizens who possess hyperdeveloped neurological abilities…
SyFy president Mark Stern, who recently added the show to the cable net’s lineup, adds about the premise:
“What we loved about this idea is that it played into a new way of approaching the superhero genre: the idea of ordinary people who have one slightly extraordinary feature about them and are singularly not so special but together can do extraordinary things was very attractive.”
So, it’s like Heroes, about people with powers, expect each person only has one specific power, or ability, and they have to use their abilities together in order to, you know, do stuff. I think. Well, we should hear more about the show soon, so let’s leave it there for now. In any case, the idea sure sounds different, so it certainly warrants keeping track of just to see where they go with this.
SyFy has given Penn and company the greenlight to produce a 90-minute pilot episode.
Below: Let’s face it, you can never have too many blonde cheerleaders on TV.
