SyFy has acquired the rights to the first two seasons of the French-produced, English-language series Metal Hurlant Chronicles.
Metal Hurlant, or Heavy Metal as its known in the United States, has been around for decades, accumulating a loyal fan following, inspiring films and, most recently, serving as the basis for the popular television series Metal Hurlant Chronicles. Up until now the show, which is filmed in English, has only been available in European markets. That said, a recent deal announced by SyFy will shortly be bringing it to the United States.
SyFy will begin airing the show in America beginning on April 4th. While time will have to tell how heavily the network pushes the series, which follows stand-alone stories connected to a mysterious asteroid, the deal gives the station the rights to the show’s first two seasons. We’ll also be interested to see whether or not the channel opts to keep the Metal Hurlant moniker. While we’ve yet to see any confirmation of any sort, we’d put our bets on SyFy switching the name to Heavy Metal which would probably be more familiar to American audiences.
All in all, it’s hard to see this as anything other than good news for American viewers. Even if you know nothing about Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal, the acclaim it’s earned and the actors involved in it should be enough to grab your attention. Past episodes, for instance, have included performances from John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings, Michael Biehn (The Terminator) and Rutger Hauer (Hobo With a Shotgun) among others. If nothing else, it never hurts to another stylish sci-fi series rocking around television.
Source: Variety
