Alan Ritchson (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) has been cast as the male lead in Blood Drive, Syfy’s 13-episode straight-to-series, grindhouse cinema-inspired drama.

Primetime-Panic Your Complete Guide to Pilots and Straight-to-Series orders See All

The series, from Universal Cable Prods. and executive producers John Hlavin and David Straiton, who will also direct, was created by James Roland who penned the pilot under Hlavin’s supervision. Set in a near-apocalyptic future in Los Angeles, Blood Drive centers on Arthur Bailey (Ritchson), a former cop who is now working for a private security company. He partners with a dangerous femme fatale who has an agenda of her own.

Arthur deplores the violence that is encouraged among his peers. Bailey sincerely wants to help make this arid, quake-ravaged and dystopian world a better place, but during an investigation, he is forced to join the Blood Drive, an underground death race in which the cars run on human blood.

Ritchson is best known for his portrayals of Aquaman on Smallville and Thad Castle on Blue Mountain State. Most recently he can be seen as Raphael in the Michael Bay-produced reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ritchson is repped by Dan Spilo at Industry, and UTA and attorney Dan Fox.