Syfy has renewed acclaimed time travel drama 12 Monkeys for a fourth and final season, which is set to consist of 10 episodes and premiere in 2018. However, plans for the upcoming third season are fairly unusual; the season will premiere Friday, May 19th at 8:00 and air its entire run over the course of three days. Four episodes will air that Friday (8:00 – midnight), with three episodes airing 8:00 – 11:00 on Saturday, May 20th and Sunday, May 21st.
“12 Monkeys has a dedicated and enthusiastic fan-base thanks to the epic storytelling by Terry Matalas, and the stellar cast and crew,” says Jeff Wachtel, president and chief content officer for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “We are thrilled to be able to offer fans an opportunity to binge the third season as a reward for their lasting support, and we couldn’t be more excited to see where Terry takes us with the final chapter of this fabulous story in the fourth season.”
Given the ratings collapse that 12 Monkeys suffered in its second season, it’s understandable that Syfy would (more or less) quarantine it from the rest of its scripted content and attempt to reduce the amount of scheduling space the show takes up. 12 Monkeys was renewed because of the acclaim that it brings the network and the message that it sends fans of harder science fiction about Syfy’s new programming ethos, so eventizing season three makes sense and conserves their resources for other content. NBC Universal-produced shows have been no stranger to unusual rollouts recently, as Bravo dramedy Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce was given a three-season renewal that will consist of three short seasons aired close together, though other networks and production studios have gotten into the act, with TBS launching comedy Angie Tribeca with a 24-hour marathon of its entire first season.
Based on the 1995 film of the same name, which starred Brad Pitt and was directed by Terry Gilliam, 12 Monkeys follows time traveling scavenger James Cole (Aaron Stanford) and virologist Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull) as they attempt to save the world from a plague that will wipe out most of humanity.
12 Monkeys is part of a Syfy drama slate that includes Channel Zero, The Magicians, The Expanse, Dark Matter, Killjoys, Wynonna Earp, Z Nation, and Van Helsing.
