In Syfy’s next brand new show, Hunters, an FBI agent joins a special government division that fights against the worst kind of terrorists of all: aliens. And they may have taken his wife captive. This new trailer, shown today at the Television Critics Association, really hits the “War on Terror” themes hard.
We’re excited for Hunters because of the talent behind it. Based on the Alien Hunter books by Whitley Streiber, the show is produced by Gale Ann Hurd (Terminator, The Walking Dead) and written by Natalie Chaidez (12 Monkeys). But it’s a little worrying to see quite how on-the-nose the show’s themes about terrorism are going to be. The aliens look like us, they live among us, and they can strike at any time—so (I’m guessing) extreme measures are required. Meanwhile, FBI agent “Flynn” Carroll (Nathan Phillips) gets paired up with another anti-terrorism agent, Regan (Britne Oldford)... who turns out to be a secret alien herself. (It’s right there in the trailer above.)
Television has, shall we say, a mixed record when it comes to trying to comment on terrorism and the lengths that we go to, to fight against it. For every show that has had interesting things to say (like BSG when it was good), there have been many that stumbled. So let’s hope that, since Hunters appears to be tackling the issue head on during an election year, they actually know what they’re doing.
Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, coming Jan 26 from Tor Books. Follow her on Twitter, and email her.