J. Michael Straczynski, the creative force behind Babylon 5, is the showrunner and executive producer behind Jeremiah, a new science fiction series that will debut on the Showtime Cable Network at 8pm (ET/PT) on Sunday, March 3.  Based on a brilliant series of graphic novels by the European artists Hermann Huppen (see 'Jeremiah To Be TV Series'), Jeremiah posits a future in which a deadly epidemic has killed everyone except those who had not yet reached puberty.  Twenty episodes have been ordered. 

 

Luke Perry, of 90210 fame, stars as the young hero who makes his way through a broken and decadent civilization searching for the 'Valhalla Sector,' which may be the only peaceful place left on the planet.  Jeremiah, a loner by nature, is joined on his journey by his na?ve but colorful friend, Kurdy, played by Malcom Jamal-Warner.

 

The Jeremiah series is being distributed by MGM, which also distributes two other contemporary science fiction series, Stargate SG-1 and The Outer Limits, to the Showtime Network.  Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the founder of Malibu Comics, is co-producing Jeremiah through his Platinum Studios.  Platinum represents a growing catalog of more than 1000 international and domestic comic book characters.  The launching of the Jeremiah TV series is a major step forward in Platinum's evolution as a Hollywood player.

 

For pop culture retailers the launch of Jeremiah means that there is another property, which though it is insignificant now, certainly bears watching.  Currently it appears that none of Hermann's 21 Jeremiah graphic novels are available in the U.S., but this situation could change quickly if the Jeremiah series gains a following.  The proliferation of cable series represents a fragmenting of the science fiction fan base that is not necessarily a bad thing for independent pop culture retailers.  The end product of this process could be a number of series, each with a devoted following, but none with a big enough reach to insure wide-ranging mass market distribution of books and merchandise.  Fragmentation isn't a bad thing as long as you get your piece of the action.