2011’s Alphas turned out to be a sleeper of a sci fi series that was sadly overlooked, and its network gave up on it too soon.
What Is It?
This series follows a group of people with superhuman abilities known as Alphas who are brought together by the Department of Defense to form a team to seek out others of their kind and also to defend against threats from malicious Alphas. Neurologist and psychiatrist Lee Rosen works closely with the group believing that they can co-exist with normal humans.
Aired: Syfy, 2011-12, 2 Seasons Totaling 24 Episodes
Created By: Zak Penn, Michael Karow
Starring: David Strathairn, Ryan Cartwright, Warren Christie, Azita Ghanizada, Laura Mennell, Malik Yoba, Erin Way
Why Was It Cancelled?
Back in 2010-11, when word first broke about this show joining the Syfy’s lineup, a collective groan went out through the sci fi community as it seemed rather derivative and yet another retread of themes already explored by the X-Men movies and the Heroes TV series. And that latter entry had just been cancelled after a three-season downward spiral that followed a promising first-season start. But while Alphas did borrow from those other properties (as well as offering a bit of a superhero spin on Syfy’s own Sanctuary), it managed to maneuver past many of the expected pitfalls and prove itself a unique twist on an established concept. That came largely on the part of good writing, that avoided too much in the way of copy-and-paste, and an excellent cast that was headed up by the likes of David Strathairn, Ryan Cartwright, Azita Ghanizada, Malik Yoba, and more. The characters quickly established themselves in the series and the stories didn’t just rehash plots previously covered in other shows (or comics or movies). Basically, this show delivered “Heroes done right”, and early on it was developing into an excellent genre entry with some well-done sci fi stories.
However, the ratings for its freshman year were not great even though it was sandwiched between two of Syfy’s better-performing shows (Eureka and Warehouse 13) in a three-hour Monday night block. The network did renew it for a second season, but they tinkered with it to an extent and its sophomore year did not deliver as satisfying of a run (though still much better than the much-maligned Season 2 of Heroes). The ratings continued to slip and Alphas was cancelled at the end of its second season, leaving it on a pretty major cliffhanger. Ultimately, it had the misfortune of being the wrong show at the wrong time. Syfy had just rebranded from the Sci Fi Channel in 2009 and had started to focus on “sci fi lite” entries like Warehouse 13, Being Human, and Haven. The network also amped up its reality programming and renewed its commitment to wrestling, all designed to appeal to a broader audience than just sci fi fans. That worked for a while with some of the network’s new offerings bringing in decent ratings, but the backlash from the former audience was already evident by 2011.
Alphas was seen by many as another of Syfy’s not-really-sci-fi shows and its concept seemed all too familiar, so it never succeeded in building much of an audience. Then the tone shift in its second year apparently led to a shrinking of its fanbase and ultimately it got kicked to the curb in favor of other Syfy projects (mostly more reality programming). Those of us who were onboard from the beginning still lament the loss of this show and the wonderful set of characters it introduced in its short run.
Can It Be Revived?
It has now been nearly twelve years since the show aired its final episode, and a revival certainly seems unlikely. There was an effort by fans to save the show after the cancellation, but the show did not develop much of a following in its initial run and nothing came of that. There were also some rumblings about a Kickstarter revival of the series (that was right about the time that Rob Thomas’ Veronica Mars revival blew away its funding goal), but co-creator Zak Penn said that it was not feasible. Since then, more people have discovered this sleeper sci fi entry and have realized that it was not given a fair shake in its initial run. Perhaps a movie could be produced picking up sometime after the events of the finale and providing some sort of resolution. And if that were to prove successful, maybe it could lead into an ongoing series. The show’s creators Zack Penn and Michael Karnow do not appear to be too busy these days, so if they were to spearhead efforts for a revival, maybe it could get some momentum. And if no network or streaming service is interested, perhaps they could at least do a continuation in comics. The premise lends itself well to that format, and they could pick up right where Season 2 left off if they went that route. If fans of the show were to start making some noise, perhaps something could happen with this one, and at least give has a better resolution.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, though it has not received the Blu-ray treatment yet. You can purchase it VOD and it is available for streaming free (with ads) on The Roku Channel.
Did you watch Alphas when it first aired and would you support fan efforts to revive the show?
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As a follower of Alpha, I am in my second season. When I read there would not be a third season and that season two would leave you in the cliffhanger, that is the worst thing a network could do to its faithful viewers!
If I had a nickel for every time the Sci-Fi channel mismanaged or failed to support one of their shows then I’d have at least enough for an expensive latte. Alphas was another one – a nice little show that, as mentioned, did ‘Heroes’ better than Heroes ultimately did itself despite having a far more modest budget. That’s why the Scif-Fi channel became irrelevant when it should have been the leader of the science fiction and fantasy takeover of television that’s happened over the last 15 years.
Yes bring it back.