EXCLUSIVE: Battlestar Galactica developer/executive producer Ron Moore is returning to Syfy‘s primetime. I hear the cable network is finalizing deals for a 13-episode straight-to-series order to Helix, a dark thriller from Moore. Syfy had been exploring straight-to-series orders in lieu of traditional pilots, and Helix would be part of that strategy.

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Helix, from Sony Pictures TV, where Moore is under an overall deal, is about a team of scientists investigating a possible disease outbreak at an Arctic research facility who find themselves trying to protect the world from annihilation. The project, which eyes a debut later this year, was written on spec by Cameron Porsandeh who serves as co-executive producer. Moore and Lynda Obst (Hot In Cleveland) executive produce. In addition to hit Battlestar Galactica, Moore also co-created and executive produced Syfy’s prequel series Caprica.