Syfy has announced that post-apocalyptic drama Van Helsing has been renewed for a 13-episode third season, which will begin production in February.
“I couldn’t be happier to learn that Syfy has renewed Van Helsing for a Season 3—it has been a wonderful journey thus far, but we have much more of the Van Helsing saga to tell before we’re through,” said showrunner Neil LaBute. “It’s great to be working with Syfy on this project again, along with Chad and Mike at Nomadic and all the others at Dynamic and Echo Lake as well. The writing team has some amazing adventures planned for our cast and a few new surprises as well—expect blood to be spilled and characters to die screaming while the fate of humanity slips closer and closer to the edge of true chaos and utter darkness.”
Based on Zenescope’s Helsing series and developed for television by LaBute (In the Company of Men), Van Helsing follows Vanessa Van Helsing (Kelly Overton), a descendant of vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing who awakens after a three-year coma to find a world overran by vampires. Using her unique blood composition as a weapon, Vanessa must work to save humanity from the brink of extinction.
Part of a scripted slate that includes Z Nation, Channel Zero, and The Magicians, Van Helsing‘s renewal is something of a surprise given that ratings are down 30% in the move to Thursdays and its current 0.12 demo average is lower than recent cancellations Blood Drive (0.13, which they owned), Dark Matter (0.15), Incorporated (0.16, which they owned), and Aftermath (0.16). It might’ve been influenced by the weak fall that the network has had, which has seen underwhelming performances from Ghost Wars and Superstition as well as a steep second week drop for Happy!. Combine that with an active online fan base and the fact that the show is fairly inexpensive and you have Syfy’s newest fall constant.
Van Helsing airs Thursdays at 9:00 on Syfy, with its season finale to come January 4th.
