Not only has TNT announced that it's greenlighting Ridley Scott's new project with a straight-to-series order, but Raised by Wolves will also be Scott's directorial debut for television. The series "centers upon two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task."

Yep, sounds about right! Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners) will serve as both showrunner and as a writer for the series, which is being produced by Scott's Scott Free Productions in association with Turner's Studio T and Madhouse Entertainment. Scott, Guzikowski, David W. Zucker (The Man in the High Castle), Jordan Sheehan (The Terror), and Madhouse Entertainment’s Adam Kolbrenner (Prisoners) and Robyn Meisinger (Prisoners) will serve as executive producers. Scott said in a press release,

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Image via 20th Century Fox

“I’m always searching for new frontiers in the sci-fi genre and have found a true original in Raised by Wolves—a wholly distinct and imaginative world, full of characters struggling with existential questions: What makes us human? What constitutes a family? And what if we could start over again and erase the mess we’ve made of our planet? Would we survive? Would we do better? Given TNT’s impressive run of bold, quality programming, this feels like exactly the right home for this kind of ambitious television.”

This is yet another expensive, high-profile series from the network, which threw its hat into the Prestige TV arena with The Alienist earlier this year. 2018 will also see the debut of the limited series I Am the Night, starring Chris Pine and directed by Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins. With Raised by Wolves, it seems clear that TNT wants to compete with premium or streaming networks that more typically deliver these kinds of star-studded series. (Although don't forget about all of the drama behind their Snowpiercer TV series ...)

Sarah Aubrey, executive vice president of original programming for TNT, said of the new series that,

“Ridley Scott is simply the best there is in the sci-fi genre. Besides directing some of the most important sci-fi films of all-time, Ridley has created iconic characters from Alien’s Ripley to Prometheus’ Elizabeth Shaw. We’re thrilled to have Ridley do the same for us as we look forward to his vision of Aaron’s complex and futuristic Mother. It’s incredibly rare to be able to make television that both challenges one’s intellect and also thrills the excited fangirl side—Raised by Wolves is that rare show that does both.”

 

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Image via Sony Pictures
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Image via Sony Pictures
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Image via Alcon Entertainment/Warner Bros.